MARKA NG KATAWAN / IMPRINT OF CARE: The Rubbercut Body as Counter-Archive for HIV Awareness

RESIDENCY PROPOSAL CONCEPT 2026

MARKA NG KATAWAN / IMPRINT OF CARE: The Rubbercut Body as Counter-Archive for HIV Awareness

*One-Line Pitch:* Moving the rubbercut from protest poster to embodied archive - a 2026 series of relief rubbercut prints that makes HIV visible, tactile, and communal at a time when the Philippines is facing its highest recorded new infections.

1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK - Pushing to New Boundaries in 2026

2026 context is critical. With 4,633 new HIV cases Jan-March 2026 and over 168,000 cumulative since 1984 [DOH via Philstar], HIV in PH is no longer just a medical issue but a crisis of stigma, silence, and faith/denial. Your past work already addresses politics, religion, faith, denial, courage, and social inequality. 3066

This proposal moves your HIV awareness rubbercuts beyond awareness poster into three new boundaries:

*a. From Image to Body-Imprint:* Rubbercut is a low-tech, intimate, reproducible medium. Concept: Each cut is a scar, each print is a skin. The HIV body is not illustrated, it is _imprinted_ - directly linking rubbercut technique to viral transmission, stigma-marking, and healing.

b. From Print to Infrastructure:* Aligns with your thesis that cultural work itself is creative work. The prints will not be isolated artworks but building blocks for a community print shop, teaching kit, and open-source archive. ea47

c. From Local to Translocal Solidarity:* Building on your ACC 2003 fellowship and global network experience, linking Manila, Iloilo, Japan, France print communities you have exhibited in, with PH community-based organizations like LoveYourself, PNAC, BOQ. 3066

2. CAPABILITY MAPPING - Why You, Why This Medium

Your Proven Capability How It Powers This Residency

Master Printmaker - Relief Rubbercut** Exclusively rubbercut for speed, affordability, and DIY reproducibility. You can produce large editions for clinics, bars, schools. Technique as activism.

Conceptual Artist / Researcher / Writer** Develops the theoretical text: *Nodes of the Viral Body*, connecting postcolonial discourse, cultural memory, and medical stigma - building on your blog as repository of drafts.

Artist-Curator-Cultural Worker** You don't just make objects, you build cultural infrastructure. Residency output includes curated mobile exhibition + community printing workshops, not just studio work.

Social/Political Engagement** HIV intersects with faith, religion, and everyday Filipino experience - your long-term thematic.

International Exchange Builder** ACC Alumni Global Network visual identity was your work *Bridges Beyond Borders*. You can convene a cross-border print exchange.

3. RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FRAMEWORK - Broken Down

Requirement 1: ARTISTIC PRODUCTION*

- *Core Output:* 20 new large-format relief rubbercut matrices (18x24 inches) under series: _1. Dasal, 2. Pagtanggi, 3. Tapang, 4. Aruga_

- Innovation for 2026:

    - Use of skin-tone inks, latex-inspired paper, redaction technique

    - Print on non-traditional surfaces: clinical paper, barong fabric, condom wrappers, BOQ quarantine forms

    - Large public mural translation: rubbercut to wall (connecting to current BOQ mural project for HIV awareness)

- *Studio Needs:* Relief press or hand-burnishing table, rubber blocks, carving tools, non-toxic inks

Requirement 2: RESEARCH & ARCHIVE*

- *Counter-Archive:* Compile 100+ HIV narratives from Western Visayas and Manila - anonymous testimonies printed as colophons beside images

- *Writing Component:* Daily studio notes for http://www.amielroldan.blogspot.com as process repository

- *Curatorial Research:* Map Philippine HIV art history from 1980s "Dare to Bare" to 2016 LoveYourself Pride exhibits to 2026

Requirement 3: PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT & AWARENESS*

- *Laminated Learning:* 3 Community Rubbercut Clinics: _Maglimbag, Magmahal, Mabuhay_ - teaching at-risk youth, LGBTQIA+, and health workers how to carve their own awareness prints. Low-cost kits they take home.

- *Mobile Print Chapel:* Pop-up exhibition in non-gallery spaces: barangay hall, Bureau of Quarantine exterior, iloilo jeep terminal, online IG carousel - editions are free to take

- *Talk:* _Cultural Workers, Not Creatives: Printmaking as Public Health Infrastructure_ - building on your ILOMOCA talk

Requirement 4: LEGACY & DISSEMINATION

- *Open-Source Print Portfolio Box:* 2026 boxed set of 12 prints donated to 10 clinics + 5 university museums + ACC archive

- *Digital Bridges:* High-res scans + video of carving process for ACC Global Alumni Network platform - your work already represents that platform

- *Sustainability Plan:* Post-residency, matrices remain with host institution for continued community printing

4. CURATORIAL STATEMENT SNIPPET (For Application)

In 2003, I went to the US as an ACC Fellow to observe how art bridges local and global. In 2026, I return to the most local material - a piece of rubber, a cutter, my hands - to address the most global of bodies. The HIV crisis in the Philippines is not failing because of lack of information, but because of lack of touch, of mark, of care made visible. My relief rubbercut is both wound and witness. During this residency, I will not make prints _about_ HIV; I will make prints _as_ HIV awareness practice - reproducible, distributable, teachable, and caressable.

 

Amiel Gerald A. Roldan (painter, printmaker, independent curator, and cultural worker; ACC Starr Foundation grantee 2003–2004) participated in it early in his career. He has since developed Independent Curatorial Manila, worked across painting, printmaking, installation, writing, and curation, and focused on cultural memory, postcolonial critique, counter-archives, and ethical collaboration.

Amiel Gerald A. Roldan’s curatorial practice is independent, project-based, artist-centered, and grounded in cultural memory, postcolonial critique, and ethical support for emerging practitioners. He operates primarily outside rigid institutional structures while drawing on extensive experience inside them.

 

Core Principles and Approach

Roldan describes his work as multidisciplinary and rooted in bridging creative practice with “scholarly infrastructure.” Key elements include:

- Building counter-archives.

- Annotating speculative or under-documented materials (including poetry and Southeast Asian manuscripts).

- Fostering regional solidarity through ethical collaboration.

- Treating curation as a form of cultural work that transforms memory, grief, or evidence into agency and resistance.

He prioritizes independence and self-reliance. He runs Independent Curatorial Manila (ICM™), a nonprofit/voluntary service that offers curatorial guidance for emerging Filipino artists. Selection is proposal-based and temporary; he emphasizes remaining free from institutional tether unless the relationship is fair and professional. He advocates rightful compensation and recognition for cultural labor rather than unpaid or exploitative support.

His reflective writing stresses that the “peripheries” of art—documentation, marketing, administration, facilitation, pedagogy, and curation—have shaped his growth as much as studio practice. He positions cultural workers (including curators) as creative contributors whose labor is often invisible, a theme highlighted in his participation in the 2025 group exhibition *Cultural Workers: Not Creative?* at ILOMOCA in Iloilo.

Methods and Working Style

- Project-based and facilitative — He co-organizes, solely facilitates, and supports traveling or multi-venue shows. Early examples include helping bring *Ang de Latang Pinoy! Yes, the Filipino Can!!!* (1995) to audiences in Baguio and coordinating photographic exhibitions of Philippine churches across the Visayas via NCCA/KKK networks. He has worked with artist-run spaces (ARS) and promoted young artists alongside international collaborators (e.g., Australian Aboriginal artists from Studio One in Canberra, Sri Lankan sculptor Kingsley Gunatillake, Malaysian printmaker Juhari Said).

- Institutional apprenticeship turned independent practice — In the mid-to-late 1990s he gained experience at Hiraya Gallery, CCP, NCCA, Jorge B. Vargas Museum (under Brenda Fajardo), Ateneo Gallery, UST Beato Angelico, St. Scholastica’s Amrhein Gallery, UP Corridor spaces, and the Australian Embassy space. He also collaborated with mentors such as Roberto Chabet and Roberto “Bobi” Valenzuela. These experiences informed a hybrid approach that values both formal institutional processes and agile, artist-driven initiatives.

- International exposure informing local methods — His 2003–2004 Asian Cultural Council (ACC) Starr Foundation fellowship and residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, plus a subsequent Chashama studio, allowed him to observe contemporary movements and build cross-border networks. This experience reinforces his emphasis on bridging local and global perspectives without losing cultural specificity.

- Writing and visibility as curatorial tools — He treats writing (essays, statements, process documentation) as integral to curation. Recent writings examine how visibility functions as currency in the Philippine art ecosystem, the role of narrative and process documentation, AI literacy for discoverability, and generational shifts among collectors. He views deliberate documentation and strategic visibility as professional necessities rather than pure self-promotion.

- Support for emerging artists and cultural workers — ICM functions as a practical guide and service rather than a hierarchical platform. He extends help selectively when it aligns with a cause or meets a clear need, while stressing self-reliance.

Overall Character

Roldan’s methods are pragmatic, reflective, and ethical. He moves fluidly between artist, curator, educator, and cultural worker roles, preferring temporary, proposal-driven projects over permanent institutional positions. His practice privileges memory, postcolonial awareness, and the often-unseen labor that sustains the art ecosystem, while remaining cautious about institutional politics and power dynamics. This positions him as a steady, independent presence who supports emerging voices and maintains critical distance from both mContinuing the trajectory. 

 

Amiel Gerald A. Roldan’s curatorial practice is independent, project-based, artist-centered, and grounded in cultural memory, postcolonial critique, and ethical support for emerging practitioners. He operates primarily outside rigid institutional structures while drawing on extensive experience inside them.

Core Principles and Approach

Roldan describes his work as multidisciplinary and rooted in bridging creative practice with “scholarly infrastructure.” Key elements include:

- Building counter-archives.

- Annotating speculative or under-documented materials (including poetry and Southeast Asian manuscripts).

- Fostering regional solidarity through ethical collaboration.

- Treating curation as a form of cultural work that transforms memory, grief, or evidence into agency and resistance.

He prioritizes independence and self-reliance. He runs Independent Curatorial Manila (ICM™), a nonprofit/voluntary service that offers curatorial guidance for emerging Filipino artists. Selection is proposal-based and temporary; he emphasizes remaining free from institutional tether unless the relationship is fair and professional. He advocates rightful compensation and recognition for cultural labor rather than unpaid or exploitative support.

His reflective writing stresses that the “peripheries” of art—documentation, marketing, administration, facilitation, pedagogy, and curation—have shaped his growth as much as studio practice. He positions cultural workers (including curators) as creative contributors whose labor is often invisible, a theme highlighted in his participation in the 2025 group exhibition *Cultural Workers: Not Creative?* at ILOMOCA in Iloilo.

Methods and Working Style

- Project-based and facilitative — He co-organizes, solely facilitates, and supports traveling or multi-venue shows. Early examples include helping bring *Ang de Latang Pinoy! Yes, the Filipino Can!!!* (1995) to audiences in Baguio and coordinating photographic exhibitions of Philippine churches across the Visayas via NCCA/KKK networks. He has worked with artist-run spaces (ARS) and promoted young artists alongside international collaborators (e.g., Australian Aboriginal artists from Studio One in Canberra, Sri Lankan sculptor Kingsley Gunatillake, Malaysian printmaker Juhari Said).

- Institutional apprenticeship turned independent practice — In the mid-to-late 1990s he gained experience at Hiraya Gallery, CCP, NCCA, Jorge B. Vargas Museum (under Brenda Fajardo), Ateneo Gallery, UST Beato Angelico, St. Scholastica’s Amrhein Gallery, UP Corridor spaces, and the Australian Embassy space. He also collaborated with mentors such as Roberto Chabet and Roberto “Bobi” Valenzuela. These experiences informed a hybrid approach that values both formal institutional processes and agile, artist-driven initiatives.

- International exposure informing local methods — His 2003–2004 Asian Cultural Council (ACC) Starr Foundation fellowship and residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, plus a subsequent Chashama studio, allowed him to observe contemporary movements and build cross-border networks. This experience reinforces his emphasis on bridging local and global perspectives without losing cultural specificity.

- Writing and visibility as curatorial tools — He treats writing (essays, statements, process documentation) as integral to curation. Recent writings examine how visibility functions as currency in the Philippine art ecosystem, the role of narrative and process documentation, AI literacy for discoverability, and generational shifts among collectors. He views deliberate documentation and strategic visibility as professional necessities rather than pure self-promotion.

- Support for emerging artists and cultural workers — ICM functions as a practical guide and service rather than a hierarchical platform. He extends help selectively when it aligns with a cause or meets a clear need, while stressing self-reliance.

Overall Character

Roldan’s methods are pragmatic, reflective, and ethical. He moves fluidly between artist, curator, educator, and cultural worker roles, preferring temporary, proposal-driven projects over permanent institutional positions. His practice privileges memory, postcolonial awareness, and the often-unseen labor that sustains the art ecosystem, while remaining cautious about institutional politics and power dynamics. This positions him as a steady, independent presence who supports emerging voices and maintains critical distance from both market spectacle and institutional capture