New history exhibit with loads of compelling art! Yes! At the Yuchengco Museum from June 11 to July 11, get a chance to see historians Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino as you’ve never seen them before. Discover the epic love story of two Filipinos who wrote together as a couple to decolonize the nation.

The exhibit will showcase letters, never before seen book manuscripts, and other rare artifacts. Revealed to the public for the first time are works of art given to the couple by National Artist Vicente Manansala and celebrated painters Malang and Araceli Dans, together with photos of the writers with good friends such as Sen. Claro M. Recto and Sen. Lorenzo Tañada, alongside handwritten notes from historians such as William Henry Scott, Doreen Fernandez, and Edilberto Alegre.

The exhibit launch on June 11 is from 3-5 p.m. and will be open and free to the public. The museum will also be open and free to the public on June 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For all other days, museum admission fees will be charged, though substantial discounts can be availed by students, PWDs, and senior citizens. For parking needs, wheelchair access, and other details, find out more from their website: https://yuchengcomuseum.org/visit/visitor-information/

The exhibit will display fascinating new art – contemporary expressions of a usable history, the concept advanced by Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino to encourage Filipinos to use lessons from the past to shape their present and realize a sustainable and fair future.

Pasts Revisited is in partnership with the Yuchengco Museum, created to house the art collection of Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco, and highlight his distinguished career as a businessman, diplomat, collector, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and advocate for education in the Philippines and beyond.

The Constantino Foundation works closely with the advocacy group 350 Pilipinas, whose volunteers created compelling new art for the upcoming exhibit.

For event details and press inquiries, contact [email protected] and 09985309247.

By Ninel Constantino

In design, perhaps the most difficult pursuit is honesty—honesty in the use of line, shape, and color; honesty in the orchestration of balance, harmony, and movement; and, above all, honesty in service of the subject itself, revealing its essence without obscuring it beneath ornamentation or borloloy.

When the opportunity arose to tell the story of Renato and Letizia—their enduring legacy, their life’s work, and the profound imprint they have left on all of us—and to mount this exhibition at the Yuchengco Museum, no less, I was filled with both awe and anxiety. The circular space was in itself a challenge! But more importantly, how does one begin to contain the breadth of two lives so richly lived, or do justice to the depth of their contributions?

This exhibition is the result of many hands and generous hearts. Through the guidance, vision, and words of my brother Red; the steadfast support of my sisters, Karmina and Kala, and my mother, Dudi; the invaluable insights of designers, Ohm David and Dem Bitantes; the warm support of all Yuchengco personnel; and, above all, the partnership of graphic designer Luna Constantino, whose collaboration and sunshine sustained this project from conception to completion, the exhibition gradually found its form.

What you will see in the exhibit is not a chronological narrative. It is certainly not a complete definitive account – what you will see here is a fraction of what is in boxes we have yet to open at the Constantino Foundation. So just consider this an invitation: to encounter the lives and work of Renato and Letizia; to reflect on the values, convictions, and principles that guided them; and to consider how the past may serve as both anchor and compass as we navigate the future. If this exhibition sparks curiosity, deepens understanding, or inspires reflection, then it has fulfilled its purpose.

Come visit the Pasts Revisted Exhibit, running until July 11, at the Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. cor. Gil Puyat Ave.!