An Invitation
Many of us are children of Martial Law. A lot of you who have now been invited to visit this page grew up in that challenging period of our nation’s history. We found our principles, made lifelong friends, and professed a commitment to #NeverForget.
I am therefore pleased to invite you to explore and support "I Am What We Remember", the art and human rights section of CANVAS’ planned Tumba-Tumba Children’s Museum of Philippine Art.
Through creative installations and thought provoking interactive exhibitions, this section will offer visitors, especially children, with an opportunity to reflect on the Philippines' experiences during Martial Law, as well as to reaffirm an enduring commitment to human rights.
It will also highlight the importance of remembering these events together as a community, and to ensure that history is neither forgotten or wrongly changed. The choice of pronouns for the name, “I Am What WE Remember," reminds us that our identities are shaped by our collective memories, and drives home why it remains vital to keep these stories alive.
I Am What We Remember will be a place where art meets history, helping children today and in the future to understand, appreciate, and learn from the sacrifices made and the truth about our past.
I hope that you will be inspired by this vision, and join us in preserving and honoring our collective history.
What Your Contribution Will Help to Make Possible
Your tax-exempt donations will fund the creation of the art and human rights section of Tumba-Tumba. As presently envisioned, this section will have at least three main features:
Silent Witnesses is based on affidavits of survivors of Martial Law. I read through dozens of affidavits, and selected ten, which I then distilled into 3-sentence stories. These stories were then individually interpreted by Renz Baluyot into haunting still life artworks of furniture, vehicles, chains, ashtrays, clothing and other objects which may have been present at the time of the events. The complete set of these artworks is now a part of CANVAS’ permanent collection.
Silent Witnesses will be interactive. Visitors will be given the opportunity to read through the full affidavits themselves, and to record themselves reading, in first person, these testimonies. These will then be recorded, looped and streamed into the exhibition hall to create a murmur of voices to create thought-provoking ambience within the hall.
The Settlement is one of CANVAS’ most popular and well-attended public art installations. Created by Mark Justiniani, the artist who represented the Philippines at the 2019 Venice Art Biennale, the installation will provide a unique and immersive experience within its room of light and mirrors. The Settlement is a visual treatise on power, fate, faith, history, activism, and change.
Finally, The Weight of Words (or The Anti-Monument), is a permanent outdoor installation by Cian Dayrit. Still under construction, it is a tower that will contain words about human rights. Visitors, especially children, will be invited to look for the words, and to contemplate their significance and power.
To find out more more, or for a preview of the artworks and installations,
please click on the images below.
Silent Witnesses
Artworks by Renz Baluyot
Words by Gigo Alampay
The Settlement
Installation by Mark Justiniani
The Weight of Words
Installation by Cian Dayrit