In conversation with 98B COLLABoratory.

Written by Chesca Santiago
September 26, 2023

From September 8 to 10, art installations lined the length of Manila’s Escolta Street. Creative interventions that pondered home through rest, ecological relations, queer identity, and more engaged with various areas along the historic thoroughfare: in a 95-year-old building, a karinderya, a hopia bakery, parking spot, and shop for safety gear—all forming part of 98B COLLABoratory’s ESC Biennale 2023: Tuloy Kayo.

In a process that cut across sites, participants, and art forms, the biennale was constitutive of 98B’s long-standing intentions with art and its production. As the program’s third iteration, Tuloy Kayo placed the idea of home at its forefront and marked many things for 98B—significations that extended beyond the biennale and were broadly contemplative of their practice as an artist-run space. In a conversation with 98B COLLABoratory director Kathy Nuñez and member/program manager Frankie Lalunio, we reflected on these and more to trace what art, home, and community mean for an enduring artist-run initiative in Escolta.

A homecoming for the community

With home as its primary site of inquiry, Tuloy Kayo operationalized the concept in two schemes. As the first staging of the biennale since the pandemic (following the second and inaugural editions in 2018 and 2016, respectively), the aptly-titled Tuloy Kayo positioned 98B as a home that is ready to welcome guests once more. Kathy shares that the biennale is a way to reintroduce 98B post-pandemic, “an invitation for people to go into our homes after years of being apart.”

Hand in hand with this is the second of Tuloy Kayo’s intentions: the centrality of community in 98B’s practice—a realization also gleaned from their experiences during the pandemic. Kathy further adds that distance led to an understanding of how intertwined they were with the communities they worked with—not just with fellow creatives, but also with their neighborhood in Escolta. In turn, as Frankie explains, the biennale also emerged as a homecoming, a way to thank their community which has supported them through the years.

With this intent, Tuloy Kayo engaged sites, participants, and forms reflective of 98B’s situated community. While the majority of the biennale’s interventions were situated inside their headquarters—the First United Building—neighboring establishments of 98B also took active part in the program. An installation that resembled a resting place contemplated well-being inside safety gear provider PANPISCO’s building. Leaf print murals that investigated human-nature relationships adorned the walls of Wa-Pen Food House. These, and several other spaces along Escolta, came together in a celebration of community.

A creative collaboratory for all

This practice that transcends the conventional understanding of art is only indicative of 98B’s wider creative philosophies. Non-profit artist-run space 98B COLLABoratory is a platform that promotes artistic experimentation and collaboration. It is essentially a platform where creatives from all sorts of disciplines, such as visual artists, architects, designers, and even scientists, can come together and make meaningful exchanges about art.

The commitment to welcome all rightly translates to the initiative’s programming. Because accessibility forms their core, Kathy explains that 98B has grown into a very casual place where art is presented in non-intimidating formats. “It could be a bazaar, a talk, a workshop, a simple gathering, a screening, a listening party, or as simple as a salo-salo. We just want people to feel at home in our space.”

Often, these are formats close to the audience’s lives—as simple as eating and hanging out, for instance. “When we think about art, usually it’s intimidating because it’s not something that we see in our everyday lives. Consider white cube spaces—we don’t see them on the streets or in spaces where people actually live their lives. That’s why we want to explore formats that are very familiar and part of every day,” expounds Frankie.

Legroom to learn, play, and grow

Established in 2012, 98B was founded as a response to the lack of artist-run spaces in Manila. But until today, when the scene has considerably expanded to include a more multifarious set of figures, 98B believes that artist-run spaces continue to add their own flavor to the ecology of art in their bid to provide a space for artists to experiment with others. “[Art] then becomes a communal thing instead of the usual picture of an artist in their studios. Because most artist-run spaces don’t follow the white-cube format, there’s more legroom for them to play.”

With more legroom comes more space for artists to learn, play, and grow—a process that is reflected in the artists’ body of works as well. Kathy adds that, “Being artist-run really opens up the different ways you can inquire about what shapes or forms art can take. It dissolved the usual hierarchy and cookie-cutter template which dictates that art should be like a certain format.”

Such approach has often led to a good kind of challenge for 98B: the challenge in trying to communicate to people what they really do. “For instance, when we tell people that we have a KITCHEN program or that we’re having an exhibition of native tree seedlings, sometimes they get confused or they just think we’re a bit strange. But honestly, we think it’s also a good response because it can be a good opportunity for the team, the people we work with, and the audience to talk about and think what other shapes or forms art can take. To put it simply, 98B can be a platform for infinite possibilities.”

It is a practice, however, that does not stand in opposition with other players in the art ecology. Both Kathy and Frankie explain that artist-run spaces still work with museums and galleries—it all just boils down to a different way of interacting with art. Artists will inevitably need the financial backing of commercial institutions, but they also need a space to play and experiment. “It’s just that there are different art ‘villages’ that cater to different types of artists. We’re not striving to be the best space out there. We’re just co-existing in this creative ecosystem.”

But as in the nature of a non-profit artist-run space, 98B has also faced constant challenges. Most significant is sustainability; as an independent initiative that runs on volunteer help, it can be difficult at times to maintain 98B. In response, the space has launched different channels to generate funding that will support the space, programming, and team. At the moment there is 98B Shop, a physical platform for merchandise, and their monthly fund-raising exhibition, Sandalan.

Sustainability built on community

And when asked what has helped sustain 98B through the years, the answer was as plain and certain as it can be: community. For the artist-run space, “Sustainability doesn’t just come in monetary terms. There’s also the trust you’ve cultivated with your community.” Because 98B operates on a voluntary basis, the space relies mostly “on trust, which we practice within the team, and also with our external collaborators in our immediate community such as the First United Building and HUB: Make Lab. It’s what has supported us—the relationships we have cultivated throughout the 11 years.”

After more than a decade of artistic initiatives, 98B has seen so many members come in and out of the space. But in the nature of an artist-run space, it is only natural. Because ultimately, as Kathy concludes, “The longevity of 98B is not tied to certain individuals. As long as there’s someone interested in staying, showing up, and doing work together, 98B would be here.”