Raymundo Albano

Raymundo Albano was a writer, artist, curator and museum director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). He graduated with a degree in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University, and was editor-in-chief of Heights, the student literary journal. Albano joined the CCP in 1970 as the assistant of founding museum director Roberto Chabet.

During his long tenure at the CCP from 1971 to 1985, he institutionalized its progressive program of abstraction, experimental installations, performances and new media by young Filipino artists alongside exhibitions of international art. He wrote extensively on art and also produced, edited and designed CCP’s exhibition catalogues, posters and magazines such as Marks and Philippine Art Supplement.

As an artist, he created paintings, prints, photographs, and installations that explored both formal and conceptual themes. He also collaborated with several artists who were also working and exhibiting at the CCP at that time, such as Chabet, Johnny Manahan, Judy Freya Sibayan, and Huge Bartolome. He participated in a number of international art exhibitions in the 70s and 80s, including the Asian Art Show in Fukuoka, Japan, the Munich Summer Festival in Germany, the ASEAN exhibition of paintings and photography, and the Paris Biennale in France. He was the founding director of the Contemporary Art Museum of the Philippines (CAMP) from 1976 to 1977. He also co-founded the gallery, Finale Art File, together with Evita Sarenas and Inday Tiansay in 1983. (Profile by Ringo Bunoan)

Photo by Nathaniel Gutierrez, 1974