InterAksyon.com Editor in Chief Roby Alampay led the Friday (September 21, 2012) unveiling of the Martial Law Museum exhibit at the Palma Hall in UP Diliman. Alampay also led the walking tour featuring reproductions of artworks from social realist artists. Shown here is Antipas Delotavo's iconic "Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan." Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under Martial Law through Proclamation No. 1081. Thousands of Filipinos were incarcerated during this dark period in the country’s history.To commemorate its 40th anniversary this year, InterAksyon.com—TV5’s online news portal—has opened the Martial Law Museum at UP Diliman’s Palma Hall lobby on Friday, September 21, 2012.
Students view memorabilia and posters giving facts and figures about Martial Law during the exhibit opening. Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
'Batas Militar' by artist Anna Fer. limited edition print, 1984 from the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Collection. The image of Fer's artwork is one of three designs available for silkscreening on t-shirts at InterAksyon.com's Martial Law Museum in UP Diliman beginning September 21 to 28. Just bring a plain black or white t-shirt to commemorate an important part of Philippine history. According to Fer, "I was in some of the street rallies and clashes. We helped friends who were imprisoned and friends who were in hiding. One lived through such sorrows, the brutal assassinations of Ninoy Aquino, Cesar Climaco, Evelio Javier, Edgar Jopson, Fr. Favali, Macliing-Dulag, and others."
The exhibit, titled Never Again: Isang Paggunita sa Batas Militar, is held in partnership with UP Diliman’s College of Social Science and Philosophy, and the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS). Interactive and educational, the Martial Law Museum takes visitors through several stations that include a photo gallery, art installations, musical renditions and digitized sounds of personal accounts of some 10,000 people affected by Martial Law.
InterAksyon.com Editor in Chief Roby Alampay explains to students the relevance of silkscreening during the Martial Law era. Before the pre-tarpaulin and social media times, activists were forced to be creative in expressing their thoughts and ideas through tools like silkscreening for printing statements, protest art, and posters. Here, Alampay is shown holding a silkscreen image of "Sumbat" by Edicio dela Torre. Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
At the Martial Law Museum's audio booth, a young student puts her ear close to speaker to hear the personal account of a Martial Law victim's torture experience. The art reproduction on the wall is from a painting by Brenda Fajardo. Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
Volunteers are also welcome to help in documenting the 10,000 affidavits of victims through audio recording in the exhibit’s sound booth.
InterAksyon.com editor-in-chief Roby Alampay led the unveiling and walking tour of the Martial Law exhibit on Friday morning. Â On the idea behind the presentation, he shared: “We want to connect the young generation to what happened in the past to give them a direct and personal link to the suffering during the Marcos era.
Students express their thoughs on Martial Law at the graffiti wall. Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
The TV5 news website encourages participating students to take note of these accounts which will also be made available online via a special microsite available at: http://www.interaksyon.com/40-years-after-martial-law.
After viewing the Martial Law exhibit, students sit down to engage in lively discussions of how the dark era in the country's history can make its lessons relevant to their generation. Photo by Peter C. Marquez, InterAksyon.com.
Earlier this month, InterAksyon.com began a special series of multimedia features on Martial Law victims. “In the series, we document and give a voice to those who people who disappeared, were tortured and murdered. We were also able to capture the painful memories of those who suffered during Martial Law. We hope the current generation to never forget that time in our history as our country moves forward,” shared Alampay.
Apart from its on-ground and online campaigns, InterAksyon.com complements its commemoration of the declaration of Martial Law via social media. Those on Twitter can use #NeverForget hashtag when sharing their insights about Martial Law and its aftermath.
For the exhibit, InterAksyon.com has also tied up with Canvas Philippines by sharing statement artworks that viewers of the exhibit can take home as designs on their shirts. Just bring a plain or black t-shirt to Palma Hall and have the statement artwork of your choice silkscreened for FREE.
"Sumbat" by Edicio dela Torre will be one of the iconic art images viewers can avail of for free in their own black or white t-shirts. Artsts from CANVAS Philippines will silkscreen t-shirts brought by viewers to the Martial Law Museum ongoing from September 21 to 28.
"Molotov Cocktail" by Pandy Aviado, limited edition lithograph, 1970 from the CCP collection. Aviado pioneered printmaking in the country, introducing the art form to many local artists and influenced most of their art practice. He has participated in workshops and exhibitions in the Philippines, Madrid, and other countries since the 60's.
Wearing the silkscreened artworks is a way of remembering the past and honoring the freedom one enjoys today.
