Connections Through Culture

Philippines: Mark Salvatus 
UK: Studio Voltaire 
 
Mark Salvatus’s residency at Studio Voltaire, ‘Alternating Currents,’ revives José Rizal’s unrealised vision of a Philippine Studies centre in London. Beginning at the British Museum, Salvatus proposes a speculative model for Philippine Studies rooted in decolonial methodologies, fragmentation, and reassembly. 

Philippines: ELEPHANT 
UK: INFERNO 
 
This project brings UK and Philippine partners together for a residency and public INFERNO summit in London. Through shared programming and documentation, it explores themes of queer culture, care and international collaboration. 

Philippines: Mt Cloud Bookshop 
UK: Young Identity 
 
Island to Island is a UK-to-Philippines digital cultural exchange that connects 12 young writers to create poetry and spoken word on islands, climate action, and resilience. Through 6 online workshops, guest talks, and collaborative writing, the project fosters dialogue on climate justice, colonial history, and inequality. It culminates in a digital anthology, live reading, and a zine.

Philippines: Alain Zedrick Camiling 
UK: Dr Aleksandar Brkic 
 
The project supports the short residencies and engagements of two practitioners, Alain Zedrick Camiling and Dr. Aleksandar Brkić, who work across the management of arts, culture, and creative industries and are engaged in academic and research pursuits. It serves as the initial entry point for research and the development of future project ideas.

Philippines: Roselle Pineda 
UK: Spark Opera 
 
Spark Opera (Kate Guelke), Papergang (Max Percy), Roselle Pineda (Performance Curators Initiatives), and Jaya Jacobo (University of the Philippines) collaborate to reimagine Carmen through a queer, decolonial lens, centring the Filipino bakla identity. Set during the Japanese occupation, this R&D explores colonialism, gender, and resistance through music, ritual, and storytelling.

Philippines: Laurice Jamero (The Manila Research Observatory) 
UK: Christopher Chadwick (Hatch) 
 
Youth leaders from small island communities in the Philippines share photos and videos, showing what life is like on these islands, especially during tidal flooding. Due to an earthquake in 2013, their islands subsided and are completely flooded for over 50 days a year in the spring King tides. The youth leaders show their community resilience and adaptation techniques.

Philippines: Jett Ilagan 
UK: Sonica Glasgow 
 
sonic_{imprints}° is an immersive sound and visual art project exploring memory, migration, and urban life through sonic experience. Using field recordings, narratives, and ambient textures, it translates the rhythms of cities into multichannel soundscapes, graphical notations, and generative visuals. The project reflects on how sound carries memory, identity, and displacement.

Philippines: Art Relief Mobile Kitchen 
UK: Rhine Bernardino 
 
This project envisions a mobile floating structure: a modular kitchen and art lab co-designed with the Bajau community in Davao. The adaptable boat bridges seafaring traditions with sustainable practices, creating space for creative experimentation, food sovereignty, and mutual aid. It will host “salo-salo” gatherings, workshops, and storytelling both on land and sea, while potentially serving as an emergency response asset.

Philippines: Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (Climate Conflict Action) 
UK: Francesca Humi 
 
This project brings together young Filipino migrants in the UK and indigenous youth from the Bangsamoro region to question the notion of “resilience” in Filipino culture. While migrants are celebrated as “modern-day heroes,” and climate resilience narratives persist, both often mask systemic inaction and displacement.