The Karnabal Contemporary Cultural Laboratory grew from Sipat Lawin Ensemble’s Karnabal Festival which was first launched in 2013 with the intention of bringing together both emerging practitioners and active movers of the independent and alternative contemporary performance scene in Manila, and create a network of possibility-makers. It’s next run was held in 2015, the first of a three-year progression with the thematics Performance and Social Innovation, giving provocations to artists to (a) address and inform the social, (b) work with communities, and (c) discover new ways of performance-making in present-day Manila. As 2015 was Discovery year, 2016 became the continuing Development year for the forged partnerships among artists and communities, introducing new programs including the first conference for independent contemporary performance-makers in the Philippines with guest international collaborators. 2017 is dubbed the year of Divergence, where we ask artists to go to the spaces where their collaborating communities are situated, and bring the festival to different spaces outside Metro Manila.

Since 2013, KARNABAL has involved around 400 local and international arts practitioners, supported the creation of about 100 original performances, and reached more than 5,000 audiences on the ground plus thousands more online through its viral works. 

 

As we come to an end in our tripartite theme, we have seen the greater need for artists, audience and community education and development, especially in this fast-paced time of global upheaval on various social issues. As we are facing new social and cultural shifts, the artists take on the role of co-creator of future histories — learning from past/history, responding to the problems of the present, and collectively envisioning and being pro-active in making and redirecting the future. With this, the festival has now evolved into a holistic developmental program, The Karnabal Contemporary Cultural Laboratory, expanding the possibilities of performance and social development by directly addressing the notions of creating “New Cultures” and “Future Histories” by providing three platforms for presentation, education, and redirection.