Another / Exit @ Anima Art Space

Co-written with Dominic Zinampan

Another / Exit, was an exhibition curated by Elev8 Me L8r, a Metro Manila-based collective established in 2020 that started out as a largely internet-based presence producing online gigs during the pandemic. The group has since moved on to organizing face-to-face events, mostly in Quezon City.

The show—designed to be a celebration of both the act of gathering together and the ways in which music acts as a connective tissue between disparate groups, scenes, and the individuals that comprise these—opened itself to exploring music in its varying manifestations, not just as acoustic phenomenon but as performance, text, image, and object.

The exhibition featured works from various practitioners and initiatives whose diverse practices have included written works, photography, graphic design, painting, and installation.

Certain installations that were produced by Elev8 Me L8r and collaborators from the scene included:
A blank hanged tarpaulin serving as a “freedom wall”;

A floor-bound installation consisting of a rubber foam mat intended to capture the opening crowd’s footprints;

A sound installation that will play back a “field recording” of the gig and consecutive events;

A reading area featuring zines from different local gig productions, labels, and other music initiatives which discuss their gathering practices around music performance, curation, audience care, etc.;

An exchange table headed by Dominic Zinampan that will function like a “community pantry” through which visitors could exchange music-related materials (e.g. CDs, books, zines, posters, postcards, stickers, equipment, etc.);

A photo exhibit by local gig documentor Janlor Encarnacion (JLE Music) featuring pre-pandemic shots from his formative years from 2017 to 2020;

Moreover, for every Saturday throughout the exhibition’s run, the exhibition space was “activated” in various ways:
On March 18, the space hosted an all-ages show featuring performances by artists like SUYEN, Walktrip, OnlyKwans, AUTOMAT, and Fax Gang.

On March 25, Dominic Laxamana from Musikolektibo conducted TUNOG LATA Lectures, a program including an album listening event and discussion on compositional contexts and techniques for Filipino modernist / experimental composers.

On April 2, Red Bartolome from Almost Crimes organized SIGNAL CHAIN: A Digital to Analog Conversation, an exhibit of 6-8 30 minute music/sound pieces from different individuals and artists recorded onto cassette. The recordings were arranged and curated by Almost Crimes and explore growth in the digital recording space in an analog format, examining and exploring the unique experience afforded by DIY cassettes and the inimitable intimacy instilled by low-fidelity recordings.

On April 8, Elev8 Me L8r held its first Another: Fair, a pop-up event wherein music and art-related participants could sell zines, stickers, postcards, albums, merch, and various items. DJ sets also accompanied the event from start to finish.

Another / Exit was part of a year-long series of actions, interactions, activations, and interventions involving various Philippine music initiatives.