Portia (Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino, b. 1984) is an arts writer and educator based in Manila, Philippines. She received the Ateneo Art Awards—Purita Kalaw Ledesma Prize for Art Criticism in 2021. Her recent projects contemplate the position and influence of contemporary art and new media in an embattled and oppressed society. She continually attempts to create critical and discursive spaces about regional art practices across the Philippines.
LinkedIn, Academia, contact@portiaplacino.com
#FacultyFridays Episode 4: Ms. Portia Placino | CIIT Philippines
Meet Ms. Portia Placino, Arts Educator and Writer | CIIT Philippines
Highlights
“Framing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection.” In Kaban: 50 Years of Investing in Philippine Cultural Heritage, 19-47. Manila: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, 2023.
“Imelda Cajipe Endaya: The History is Female (cover feature),” ArtAsiaPacific, May 1, 2023.
“Manila: Resurgence of Site and Critique,” ArtAsiaPacific ALMANAC, January 2, 2024.
“Ironies of Colonialism and Diaspora in Contemporary Art,” Esquire Philippines, April 22, 2024.
“Framing Women Artists in the Philippines,” Spot.ph, March 31, 2024.
“How (Not) to Reread the Colonial Archive,” ArtReview Asia, Winter 2023.
“Julie Lluch: Feminist and Activist,” Art+ Magazine, October 3, 2023.
“Horror Vacui: Complexities of Philippine Art,” Naware Magazine, Madrid: 2023.
“Dreaming in Indigenous Cultures and Contemporary Art,” Naware Magazine, Madrid: 2023.
“Exhibition Review: ‘Crackling for a Piece of the Moon’ and ‘Pro-Forma,’” ARTSG, May 30, 2022.
Talks
Moderator for “Point to Point: Art and Digital Connectivity” with Ateneo Art Gallery and Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., June 27, 2023.
Moderator for “Recipients of the 2022 Artist Residency Grant” with Art Fair Philippines, February 17, 2023.
Speaker for “Perspectives in Art Writing” with Orange Project, June 27, 2022.
Moderator for “ArtSpeak Online: The Creative Process and Collaborations” with Ateneo Art Gallery, February 23, 2022.
Features
“Rethinking Land and Labor Through Art,” Spot.ph, March 27, 2024.
“Beauty and Ugly: Complexities in Philippine Art,” Spot.ph, August 12, 2023.
“How an Artist-Run Space in Teachers Village Brings the Community Together,” Spot.ph, June 11, 2023.
“Rethinking Philippine Muslim Art and Culture With the “Father of Sablay”,” Spot.ph, May 21, 2023.
“Reimagining Sugilanon: Negros’ Legends as Told Through Art,” Spot.ph, May 1, 2023.
“Orange Project and Art District: Creating Bacolod City’s Contemporary Art Hub,” Spot.ph, March 25, 2023.
“Beyond the Kiping: Project Space Pilipinas Makes Space for Contemporary Art in Lucban,” Spot.ph, January 15, 2023.
“Nunelucio Alvarado: Sugar and Salt of Life,” ArtAsiaPacific, July-August 2022.
“Kidlat Tahimik: History Through the Bamboo Camera,” ArtAsiaPacific, March-April 2022.
“Forging on by the Mountainside,” Vitalpoints, Purita Kalaw Ledesma Foundation, 2021.
Profiles
“Geraldine Javier: Lightness in Death,” ArtAsiaPacific, March-April 2024.
“Artistic Labor: Len-Len reframes being a woman, artist, and mother,” Art+Magazine Issue 88, January 2024.
“Jose Tence Ruiz: Fear of the Setting Sun,” ArtAsiaPacific, September-October 2023.
“Veejay Villafranca: Lenses of Photography as Salve to Human Stories,” Art+ Magazine Issue 85: MOCAF Issue, August 1, 2023.
“The Paradox of Charlie Co,” Art+ Magazine, June 15, 2023.
“Looking Into Bacolod Artist Brandon Braza’s Persistence of Practice,” Spot.ph, April 16, 2023.
“Artist Faye Abantao Dwells on Collective and Personal Memories,” Spot.ph, February 12, 2023.
“Kiri Dalena: Confronting Narratives,” ArtAsiaPacific, September-October 2022.
“Legacies of Dissent: Leslie de Chavez,” ArtAsiaPacific, November-December 2021.
Reviews
“Mark Justiniani’s Infinity Works at the Ateneo Art Gallery,” Spot.ph, February 28, 2024.
“Seeing through Lenses: Expanding Contemporary Photography,” Spot.ph, January 1, 2024.
“How Can Art Imagine Our Uncertain Future?,” ArtReview Asia, Autumn 2023.
“Rethinking Migrant Labor through Karakoa Warriors,” Spot.ph, December 25, 2023.
“From Gore to Humor: Finalists of the Ateneo Art Awards 2023,” Spot.ph, November 1, 2023.
“Art Evokes Excesses in Philippine Culture and Politics,” Spot.ph, October 24, 2023.
“This Provocative Exhibit in Iloilo Sparks a Dialogue on “Aesthetic Cuisine,” Spot.ph, July 16, 2023.
“Navigating Internet Culture and Memes Through Mideo Cruz’ Latest Exhibit,” Spot.ph, June 25, 2023.
“Losing Home: Stories of Loss and Resistance at Gravity Art Space,” Spot.ph, June 4, 2023.
“Coconut, Copra, and Heritage Take the Spotlight at This Art Exhibit,” Spot.ph, March 12, 2023.
“On the Environment, Magic, and Politics of Art Residencies Across Regions,” Spot.ph, February 26, 2023.
“Manila: Pio Abad,” ArtAsiaPacific, July-August 2022.
“Manila: Cast But One Shadow,” ArtAsiaPacific, March-April 2022.
Exhibition Notes
“Tales from the Hearth: Mapping a Mother’s Landscape,” exhibition note, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, 2023.
“Ziggurat,” exhibition note, Kaida Contemporary, 2018.
“Paglantaw,” exhibition note, Vargas Museum, 2014.
“Concurrence,” exhibition note, West Gallery and Project Space Pilipinas, 2014.
Academic Works
“Manix Abrera,” Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Visual Art), 2nd ed. vol. 5, 2017.
“Mideo Cruz,” Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Visual Art), 2nd ed. vol. 5, 2017.
Portia Placino and Eileen Ramirez, “Poleteismo,” Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Visual Art), 2nd ed. vol. 5, 2017.
“Korean Contemporary: Continuing Process and Discourse, Articulation of Silences,” Conference Proceeding, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, 2016.
“Contemporary Art Publics: Mapping Philippine Contemporary, Media, Technology and Publics,” Journal of Global Studies and Contemporary Art (REG/AC), Art Globalization Interculturality – University of Barcelona, 2015.
“Spilling into the Public: Poleteismo and Contemporary Art Discourse,” Plaridel, College of Mass Communications, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 2012.
“Contemporaneity and Institution: Poleteismo Controversy in the Philippine Museum,” Museum 2012: The Socially Purposeful Museum Conference Proceeding, National Taipei University of Education, University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, National Museums Liverpool, National Museum of History, Taipei, 2012.
Portia Placino 