Yason Banal is an artist whose work moves between and among video, photography, sculpture, performance, text and painting, taking myriad forms and critical strategies in order to research and explore associations, frictions and refractions among seemingly divergent systems.
He obtained a BA in Film from the University of the Philippines, an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London,; residencies at AIT Tokyo and CCA Singapore; visiting lectureships at London Metropolitan University and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts; and, an assistant professorship at the University of the Philippines Film Institute.
His works have been exhibited widely, including at the Tate, Frieze Art Fair, IFA
Berlin, Oslo Kunsthall, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Vargas Museum, Christie’s, Singapore Biennale and Shanghai Biennale. He has curated video exhibitions for the Osage Art Foundation, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Asia Pacific Triennial; while his own video works have been screened at Gasworks, 98B Collaboratory, South London Gallery, Gertrude Contemporary and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. Recent group exhibitions include those at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Ateneo Art Gallery and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.
The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde is a private Catholic educational institution in Manila, Philippines, known for pioneering industry-responsive degree programs that are rarely offered by other universities and colleges in the country. Learning in its many forms is encouraged, so much so that, spiritual creative pursuits, artistic endeavors, service to the community, awareness on environmental issues, and concern for the common good are all part of the educational experience.
In Benilde’s learning environment that nurtures students to develop their interests and passions, collaboration is greatly underlined as a tool for learning. As such, for the Philippine pavilion challenge of working on the exploration of the city of Manila by looking into our past and analyzing various situations, not only architecture students have been invited to the exploration but also those coming from other programs, specifically, the Arts Management Program, as well as the Consular and Diplomatic Affairs Program.
The Benildean breakthrough goals of innovation and inclusion have strongly pushed this endeavor and the students have had the golden opportunity to prepare themselves to become professionally competent in the industry and possibly in other emerging fields of specialization, too. De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde is a member of the De La Salle Philippines, a network of sixteen De La Salle schools administered by the De La Salle Brothers-Philippine District.
TAO-Pilipinas is a women-led non-profit NGO composed of technical professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, environmental science, social development and humanities. TAO-Plipinas envisions sustainable settlements development that is people-centered, environment -friendly and which provides equitable access to and distribution of resources with preference for the poor. TAO promotes participatory planning and a design approach which believes in the capacity of the poor to find the appropriate solutions to their problems with proper guidance. TAO works on issues of security of tenure, sustainable design and disaster-resilient construction, and climate change adaption and mitigation.
The University of San Carlos School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design (USC SAFAD) is one of the most notable institutions in the field of Architecture in the Philippines. It has grown from being a simple Department of Architecture under the College of Engineering in the 1960s to an independent and dynamic school of design and the arts at present. The school gracefully rides with tides of change in the educational system while maintaining a pursuit of excellence among its students and its faculty. It continues to take pride in the accomplishments of its graduates from their outstanding performance in government-administered licensure examinations all the way to their flourishing careers and professional practice.
The Department of Architecture offers Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Planning. The Department also offers graduate courses like Master of Architecture (M. Arch. with majors in Architectural Science, Heritage & Conservation, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture or Urban Design), Master in Urban Planning (MUP) and Master in Environmental Planning (MEP). The Department of Fine Arts offers Bachelor of Fine Arts majors in Advertising Arts, Fashion Design, Painting and Cinema.
USC SAFAD remains responsive to the demands of the community by developing sections which cater to specific needs of the clientele and industry partners. The Architecture Computer Center provides up to date computer facilities and software. The Institute of Planning and Design spearheads many community-based projects while the Conservation and Heritage Institute and Workshop enriches student consciousness for cultural heritage. The School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design continues its pursuit of excellence as an “institution of learning that embodies the principles of academic discipline of San Carlos Borromeo and the missionary charism of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD).”
The University of the Philippines-College of Architecture (UPCA) envisions the development of Filipino architecture responsive to and expressive of the physical and socio-cultural realities in the nation. The Architecture program was initially offered by the College of Engineering in 1956. As the College of Architecture, it became a separate unit of the University in July 1970. Among its seven programs, two are at the undergraduate level: the Bachelor of Science in Architecture and the Bachelor in Landscape Architecture. The production team of the College for the Philippine Pavilion is comprised of twelve students from the two undergraduate programs, guided by a group of faculty of the College.
The University of the Philippines-Mindanao is the home campus of the Department of Architecture under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. UP Mindanao is committed to lead in providing affordable quality education, scholarly research, and responsive and relevant extension services to diverse, marginalized and deserving sectors in Mindanao and neighboring regions through its programs in the sciences and arts which aim to inculcate a passion for excellence, creative thinking and nationalism in the context of cultural diversity in a global community. The following programs are under the Department of Architecture: Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Diploma and Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.
In June 2011, the Board of Regents of the UP System instituted the Department of Architecture. In line with the mission of the campus, with the department envisioned to be the region’s center for excellence in the field of architecture, planning and design. In January 2016, the unfreezing of Diploma/Masters in Urban and Regional Planning Program was approved under its umbrella to provide more opportunities for the department to produce graduates with a high sense of social and cultural awareness resulting from the studies in construction and building technology, architectural history and critical theory, and urban and regional planning.