Philippine Arts in Venice Biennale - PAVB

16/05/2026

We are deeply grateful for the support of local and international media for Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig, the official Philippine participation at the recently opened 61st Venice Art Biennale. To everyone who has visited, written about, supported and shared the exhibition: thank you.

Art Asia Pacific - Must-See National Pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale
https://www.artasiapacific.com/shows/must-see-national-pavilions-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/

Frieze - What Not to Miss in Venice’s Arsenale and Giardini
https://www.frieze.com/article/what-not-miss-venices-arsenale-and-giardini

Observer - The Venice Biennale’s Most Powerful Pavilions Tune into Shared Consciousness
https://observer.com/2026/05/art-best-national-pavilions-2026-venice-biennale/

We invite you to experience Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig, featuring the work of Jon Cuyson and curated by Mara Gladstone, in person at the Arsenale in Venice until November 22, 2026.

Explore the features and coverage by Biennial Foundation, ArtAsiaPacific, Vogue Philippines, ArtDaily, Frieze, ArtReview, Tatler Asia, Inquirer.net, Observer, Monopol Magazin, Athinorama, Econique Art and Hube Magazine below.

https://biennialfoundation.org/2026/03/philippine-pavilion-presents-jon-cuyson-sea-of-love-at-the-2026-venice-biennale/

https://www.artasiapacific.com/issue/previews-61st-venice-biennale-in-minor-keys/

https://vogue.ph/lifestyle/art/jon-cuyson-sea-of-love-venice-biennale-2026/

https://vogue.ph/lifestyle/art/venice-biennale-2026-jon-cuyson-mara-gladstone/

https://www.artasiapacific.com/news/jon-cuyson-to-represent-the-philippines-in-2026-venice-biennale/

https://artdaily.com/news/189423/The-Philippines-returns-to-the-Venice-Biennale-with-Sea-of-Love-by-Jon-Cuyson--curated-by-Mara-Gladstone

https://artreview.com/2026-venice-biennale-pavilions-your-go-to-list-updated/

https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/philippine-pavilion-venice-arts-biennale-2026-jon-cuyson

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2227459/legarda-ph-pavilion-at-venice-biennale-honors-filipino-seafarers-culture

https://observer.com/2026/05/venice-biennale-review-philippines-pavilion-jon-cuyson-sea-of-love/

https://www.monopol-magazin.de/wer-vertritt-wen-venedig-4

https://www.athinorama.gr/texnes/3070753/osa-prepei-na-gnorizoume-gia-ti-fetini-mpienale-benetias/

https://econique.art/mercato-arte-in-asia-cresce-tra-fiere-biennali-e-nuovi-spazi/

https://hubemag.com/currents-of-the-61st-biennale-inside-venices-flow-of-art-and-power

07/05/2026

The Philippine Pavilion’s Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig exhibition at the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia formally opens on May 7, 2026 at 2:00pm CET / 8:00pm PST. Curators, artists, collaborators, dignitaries, and members of the Filipino communities in Venice and other parts of the world gather to celebrate the opening ceremony of the Philippine Pavilion.

Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig exhibition pays homage to the seafarer, often invisible but a vital part of the history of global movement. In his opening message, NCCA Chairman and Executive Director Eric B. Zerrudo, Ph.D. states that cultural infrastructure is another less visible but vital form of infrastructure. “Cultural Infrastructure includes institutions, traditions, and practices that safeguard memory, as well as the built heritage that anchors communities to place… These foundations allow a nation not only to remember, but also to imagine its future.”

Curator Mara Gladstone began her speech by extending her gratitude to the cooperating agencies NCCA, DFA, and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, the PAVB Coordinating Committee, the jury that selected their exhibition, their collaborators, and everyone involved in the production of the exhibition. “The number of people involved over many years of making this work reflects the strength, creativity, and interconnectedness of Philippine communities across oceans, a core message of the exhibition itself.” She ended her speech by thanking Jon, their community of curators and artists, their families, and the spirit of bayanihan that helped in mounting the exhibition.

According to artist Jon Cuyson, the exhibition begins with the question: what does the sea remember that history forgets? For Cuyson, the sea is an archive that remembers through movement, drift, and accumulation. At the end of his speech, he states, “Sea of Love is not a single story. It is a gathering of fragments, voices, and conditions, inviting us to listen differently to the sea and to our place within it.”

A conversation between the curator and artist was held during the program, moderated by Kris Alexanderson, one of the contributing writers of the catalogue. The conversation provided insights into Cuyson’s artistic process and the community involved in the production of works. It also elaborated on the exhibition’s use of the mussel as a metaphor. The collaborative process between the curator and artist, and their experience in representing the country, are also among the topics discussed in the conversation.

In her message, Hon. Senator Loren Legarda, states that the sea teaches us reciprocity. “What sustains us must also be protected. For an archipelagic nation, caring for our oceans is inseparable from caring for our communities. Protecting marine ecosystems safeguards livelihoods, while strengthening climate resilience protects the coastal homes of millions of Filipinos,” as Consul General Jim Tito San Agustin of the Philippine Consulate General in Milan read Sen. Legarda’s message.

Mara formally declared the Philippine Pavilion’s Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig exhibition open.

The Philippine Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2026 will be open to the public from May 9 - November 22, 2026.

The Philippine participation at the Venice Biennale is a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

05/05/2026

The set-up of Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig unfolds slowly inside the Arsenale — exhibition components unpacked, panels set in place and every element carefully arranged within the space. Each act is intentional and collaborative.

In many ways, the installation process represents the exhibition itself: shaped through gathering, movement, and the steady work of many hands. Like the sea and the stories the exhibition holds, the work comes together in layers — of memory, migration, longing and connection across distance.

On May 7 at 2pm(CET), the Philippine Pavilion presenting Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig will have its Opening Ceremony. Public opening is on May 9, until Nov. 22, 2026.

30/04/2026

The Philippine Pavilion’s Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig will have its opening ceremony on May 7, 2026, 2:00 PM (CET).

An important segment of the opening is a conversation between artist Jon Cuyson and curator Mara Gladstone aimed at deepenening the narrative, offering layered insight into the works, and sharing their practices and the ideas that shape the exhibition.

The Philippine Pavilion will open to the public from May 9 to November 22, 2026.

The Philippine participation at the 61st Venice Art Biennale is a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

27/04/2026

This year’s featured exhibition at the Philippine Pavilion of the 2026 Venice Art Biennale is Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig by artist Jon Cuyson, curated by Mara Gladstone. Installed at the Arsenale, the work is an evocative and immersive reflection on the Philippines as a maritime nation shaped by love, migration and memory. Through painting, sculpture and moving image, it traces the lived realities of Filipino seafarers and the often unseen labor that connects lives across the world. From the islands to Venice, it speaks to belonging, care and the ways we are held together across distance.

The visual identity of the exhibition is grounded in love as a force that connects both personal and collective experience, shaped by the movement and scale of the ocean. It draws together ideas of direction, journey and faith, forming a language of navigation, presence and cultural continuity. Follow the journey of the Philippine Pavilion's Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig as it unfolds in Venice.

10/04/2026

Philippine Pavilion’s Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito / Waiting just behind the curtain of this age has found its permanent home in Lucban, Quezon through the warm partnership of the Municipality of Lucban and Southern Luzon State University, with support from Lucban Heritage Conservation Society.

Curated by Carlos Quijon Jr. featuring the works of Lucbanin artist Mark Salvatus, the exhibition is a theater of textile, stone sculptures, and soundscape that stages an encounter with Mt. Banahaw, a three-peaked forested mystical mountain located on the boundary between Laguna and Quezon, and Lucban, the artist’s hometown.

Components of the Exhibition were just installed permanently in Hermano Puli Monument, Museo Lucban, Patio Rizal, Marcos Tigla Park and Southern Luzon State University - Ayuti campus. It will officially open to the public on May 13, 2026.

The idea of installing the components in different important sites encourages the visitors to journey from one site to the next, similar with Hermano Puli’s idea when he encouraged his companions to journey through different towns, pray to their patron saints and meet new friends and resulted to the growth of Cofradia de San Jose, a religious order he founded for Filipinos.

Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito / Waiting just behind the curtain of this age was the official Philippine participation at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2024.

The sustained participation of the Philippines in Venice Biennale remains a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

18/03/2026

We invite you to visit the Homecoming exhibition of Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito / Waiting just behind the curtain of this age, at the Marble Hall of the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila. The exhibition is open to the public until March 23, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Experience this reflection on memory, faith and nationhood before it closes.

02/02/2026

You are invited to visit the homecoming exhibition ‘Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito’ / Waiting just behind the curtain of this age, by artist Mark Salvatus and curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr., now extended until March 23, at the National Museum of Anthropology.

This offers the public a continued opportunity to experience the Philippine Pavilion’s presentation from the 60th Venice Art Biennale.

28/01/2026

23/12/2025

Jon Cuyson and Mara Gladstone will represent the Philippines at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with the exhibition Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig