Short for The Alternative Nest for the Next Rising and Emerging Artists, THE ANNEXT is an experimental art initiative that aims to conceptualize and curate innovative and ground-breaking contemporary art exhibitions with galleries, design brands, and cultural institutions to help elevate art appreciation and understanding.
For 2023, they aim to organize a set of two simultaneous contemporary art exhibitions in December. In order to ensure they’re properly guided in delivering and crafting significant contributions to art tourism, from venue selection and preparation to space and sensory curation to market promotions and viewership, they decided to partner with the Department of Tourism.
Photo: THE ANNEXT
Guided by the vision of the Department of Tourism to launch a monumental art exhibition at the National Museum of National History and introduce its space as a contemporary art platform, THE ANNEXT is featuring two of the most celebrated and sought-after contemporary artists of their generation through two simultaneous one-man exhibitions.
Inspired by the architectural concept (double helix) of the National Museum of Natural History, the simultaneous and blended exhibitions of contemporary artists Marc Aran Reyes ( (an)other ) and Sid Natividad (Sentiment Debris) and hope to define and establish, despite their own artistic originality and concept, their shared creative DNA as Filipino artists.
Guided by the museum’s main purpose as a place of historical conservation and a space to think and wonder, both exhibitions are anchored on one conceptual theme—the passage of time in defining a moment, a history, and a story.
Photo: THE ANNEXT
For this rare and monumental pair exhibition, both artists, through their art pieces, explored and reflected on the following questions: How do you see your past? What are the things that you once held most valuable but can no longer hold? What are things you can only wish for to be part of your present? Are there things you wish to hold on to that continually and forever define you, your present, and your future? How do you make your past part of your present and future?
In their oeuvres, the exploration of time and personal histories is represented and captured in the vastness of space (Reyes) or body of water (Natividad), the use of artifacts (Reyes) or memorabilia (Natividad), and lyrical movements in their visual composition.
Simultaneous Exhibitions:
(an)other by Marc Aran Reyes
Art Underground
Sentiment Debris by Sid Natividad
Ysobel Art Gallery
Exhibition Dates: 6-10 December 2023
Venue: Shell Centennial Courtyard, National Museum of Natural History, Teodoro F. Valencia Cir, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila
