The Tears of the Hip-Hoptivist or The Rock and the Hard Place: Social Practice in the Philippines

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores social practice art in the Philippines. Focusing on the work of Manila-based practitioner Clara Balaguer from the Office of Culture and Design (OCD), the article examines less the work and more the barriers to practice. Examining the two key obstacles, that of the market and the Movement, the article aims to underscore the still uneven topography of the global art milieu. While exploring the possibilities and problematics of social practice in the paper – the key tension between ethics and aesthetics, something highlighted by our eponymous hip-hoptivists – what in fact remains central is the complexity of locality and the inherent impediments to social practice in the Philippines. Following the collaborative and dialogical foundations of social practice itself, the paper includes Balaguer’s comments, thoughts and responses as marginalia1a.