Envisioning “New Cultures, Future Histories” in Karnabal Cultural Lab

KARNABAL2017COVERPIC

Connecting artists, theater makers, and various communities in Metro Manila, Karnabal Festival returns this May 10-23 as KARNABAL CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL LAB to expand, celebrate, and challenge new possibilities of performance and theater-making in the country.

The two-week festival highlights the alternative wave of performance-makers in the local scene and international artists creating new works in the Philippines.

Launched in 2013 by theater collective Sipat Lawin Ensemble, Karnabal is a platform for developing new forms of performances, challenged to address issues of our time. This year, Karnabal expands beyond the festival into a Contemporary Cultural Laboratory with new long-term programs with a thrust to envision “New Cultures” and “Future Histories.”

“In the age of global and local shifts due to political manipulations, of rampant historical revisionism, of digital citizenship and the ever-changing now, we ask: What kind of culture and values do we need to cultivate? What new traditions should we stage?,” Festival Director JK Anicoche asks.

Fifteen works will be presented in different venues in Metro Manila during the two-week festival alongside gatherings, gigs, and informal lectures and discussions.

Performances includeEisaJocson’sPrincess Studies (Dance), Adrienne Vergara’s Yenyen de Sarapen(Mascot Performance), SipatLawin Ensemble’s Gobyerno (Interactive Theater, Film), Riki Takeda’s An Octopus is an Octopus , but it is a ______ (Performance, Film), and Scenius Pro’sHear, Here! (Musical Performance for Hearing & Non-Hearing Communities).

Also launching this year is Karnabal’s Artist Residency Program, called LAGABLAB: Idea Ignition Launchpad, the first local residency of its kind dedicated to performance-making. LAGABLAB pools select artists from all over the country to undergo workshops and training in Manila during Karnabal and afterward in Cordillera for a one-week mentorship and creation period. The artists will also receive further support to develop their works to be presented as work-in-progress performances in October.

 

For more information, follow Karnabal at www.facebook.com/karnabalfestival/ and visit the crowdfunding page at bit.ly/supportkarnabal.