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> Re-existencias bayanihan 


Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Madrid, 2023

This project involves temporarily adapting the interior of the Velázquez Palace for non-exhibitory uses: as a relaxation space, to host reading sessions, performances, and other activities under the “Apuntes” initiative of the MNCARS. “Apuntes” was conducted in the second semester of 2023 and revolved around the concept of “time”. As northern Andean migrant architects living in Madrid, the Velázquez Palace, with its colonial history (it served as the main venue for the Philippine Exhibition in 1887, which was then part of the Spanish empire), holds a special personal and professional significance for us. In response to the central theme of “Apuntes”, we proposed a space that would foster a dialogue between the activities to be held in the palace and the colonial eras that permeate this building, many of which are still relevant today.













Building on this, we have proposed two actions. One involves creating a hanged sign that names this temporary space and invites reflection on the building's history. The other involves repurposing old stage sets from the National Dramatic Center's warehouses to furnish the space for its various uses. The name and its sign is a work that we have developed in collaboration with writer Karessa M. Ramos and artist Nayare Soledad Otorongx, cultural agents in Madrid linked to the Filipino and Abya Yala diasporas. Regarding the colonial times, it is important to recognize two things: first, that these times are not only a matter of the past but continue to be relevant today. Second, for the colonized communities, these times have represented not only a period of oppression but also one of resistance and collective reinvention, even in adversity.



















For the name, we have proposed “Re-existencias bayanihan”. “Re-existencias” is a concept by Adolfo Albán Achinte, an Afro-Colombian decolonial artist and thinker, which invites us to think beyond the resistances associated with coloniality, considering the alternative forms of existence that communities construct despite those imposed on them. “Bayanihan” is a Tagalog term that, in The Philippines, speaks to the house as a collective construction and to community action in general. It refers to the shared character of re-existences that have historically occurred and continue to occur in the Spanish territory by many individuals linked to diasporas from colonized territories. Additionally, we believe this temporary sign might spark a broader future conversation about alternative ways in which this building could be named and described more permanently; possibly problematizing its past and opening possibilities for other futures. Our intention is for “Re-existencias bayanihan” to function simultaneously as an open text that, beyond coloniality, invites imagining other ways of existing and being together both inside and outside this space.











































Regarding the reuse or recycling of stage sets, it involves giving a new purpose to objects typically used temporarily, working from a more responsible and circular material management perspective. It also involves questioning an understanding of the concepts of “time” and “us” in the design processes that, from our perspective, tends to be narrow, and understanding the work of design through a broader “us”, constructed over an extended period. In this case, it is a time that articulates alongside the different designers of the sets that, once recycled, participate in the project, as well as the gathering of a poet, an artist, and architects to design the name of this space.  









For each of the scenic pieces, we prepare a label with information about its designer, the theater production in which it was used, and its authors, as well as a QR code to access more information about it. The sign is accompanied by a cover that redraws the monumental geometry of the palace's interior, fostering a domestic and approachable atmosphere.

This proposal worked closely with a proposal of decolonial actions for the “Apuntes” program, which was developed and coordinated by Abdiel Segarra and Karessa M. Ramos, alongside Husos, among others.












































Team: Space Design: Husos Arquitecturas / Text and Graphic Art: Nayare Soledad Otorongx, Karessa Ramos, Husos, and others / Photography: Impresiones Cotidianas / Special Thanks: Abdiel Segarra and Revista Sin Norte, Sabrina Boutselis, Anna Fux, Efraín Rodríguez, and Fran Cabeza de Vaca.