A SIX-nation decentralised Festival
MICRO CONSTELLATIONS
A six-nation arts response to COP31.
Micro Constellations is what happens when nine curators in nine places act at once.
It grew out of COP Out, a curatorial collective brought together by Micro Galleries. Over a 12-week online program, the curators built relationships, shared methods and challenged each other’s assumptions. Each then returned to their own community to make a local program, shaped by that place’s land, language, politics and climate realities.
These projects are making art that respects the living world, uses what we already have, and listens to the ground beneath our feet. It means working with the rhythms of country, season and tide, and making with care, with less waste and with materials already at hand. It means treating communities as the experts in their own places. In Asia Pacific, the climate crisis is not an abstraction. It is rising water, shifting seasons, heat, fire, flood and displacement, already shaping daily life. These programs respond from inside that reality, not from the outside looking in.
And, together, those programs form the festival. Each is small and rooted in its place, and each is part of a larger pattern. Seen from far enough away, they make a constellation.
Micro Constellations has a second purpose that will outlast COP31. Curatorial models are too often imported from elsewhere and applied to this region as if the fit were obvious.
The curators in this program are working out what curating means here, in a region with Indigenous and First Nations knowledge systems, Pacific communities at the frontline of rising seas, dense cities, artist-run spaces and ways of making that don’t fit Western institutional templates.
A curatorial voice for this region.
By connecting emerging and early-to-mid-career curators across borders, we are building the relationships and shared confidence that make a regional curatorial voice possible, one that defines the role by the needs and creative landscape of Asia Pacific, and by the living world it works within.
This is the collectives first creative expression. A micro constellation.
It grew out of COP Out, a curatorial collective brought together by Micro Galleries. Over a 12-week online program, the curators built relationships, shared methods and challenged each other’s assumptions. Each then returned to their own community to make a local program, shaped by that place’s land, language, politics and climate realities.
These projects are making art that respects the living world, uses what we already have, and listens to the ground beneath our feet. It means working with the rhythms of country, season and tide, and making with care, with less waste and with materials already at hand. It means treating communities as the experts in their own places. In Asia Pacific, the climate crisis is not an abstraction. It is rising water, shifting seasons, heat, fire, flood and displacement, already shaping daily life. These programs respond from inside that reality, not from the outside looking in.
And, together, those programs form the festival. Each is small and rooted in its place, and each is part of a larger pattern. Seen from far enough away, they make a constellation.
Micro Constellations has a second purpose that will outlast COP31. Curatorial models are too often imported from elsewhere and applied to this region as if the fit were obvious.
The curators in this program are working out what curating means here, in a region with Indigenous and First Nations knowledge systems, Pacific communities at the frontline of rising seas, dense cities, artist-run spaces and ways of making that don’t fit Western institutional templates.
A curatorial voice for this region.
By connecting emerging and early-to-mid-career curators across borders, we are building the relationships and shared confidence that make a regional curatorial voice possible, one that defines the role by the needs and creative landscape of Asia Pacific, and by the living world it works within.
This is the collectives first creative expression. A micro constellation.
The Program by Location
- Bangladesh
- What The Earth Leaves On Us by ANHA Collective // 13-15 November
- Cambodia
- Saiyon Kongkea Festival by Solarpunk Cambodia // 14-25 November
- Indonesia
- Karaoze Haze by SOGODOL (Dwiki Nugroho Mukti - Candra Pasetyo Wibowo) // 10 November
- COP OUT Call Out Problems, Offer Useful Transformations by Deliana Permatasari // 9 November - 15 December
- Philippines
- Soil Meteorisation by Ezekiel Sales (also presented across multiple locations) // 9-20 November
- umabaybay: femme farmer & fisher folks forum by Baryo Balangaw Creative Initiatives, inc. // 14-16 November
- Balde sa Siyudad by Ria San Gabriel with Paolo Dumlao // 13 November
- SingaporeA Pocketful of Elsewhere by Shirley Wong (also presented across multiple locations) // 17-29 November
- ThailandThis is Fine: An Exhibition in Six Biomes by Kat Roma Greer and Bora Hong // 19 - 21 November
Delve into it
The Program in Detail
What The Earth Leaves On Us
ANHA Collective // Bangladesh
What the Earth Leaves on Us: is a collaborative art project inspired by the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Through nature and river-inspired prints, clay sculptures, and a handmade zine, students, artists, and local artisans explore the river’s pollution, environmental changes, and cultural significance. The project also brings contemporary artistic practices into dialogue with traditional clay-making, including interpretations of Tepa Putul. Combining art, craft, and community conversation, it invites the public to reflect on what the river carries—and what we must protect for the future.
DATE: 13-15 November, 10am - 6pm
LOCATION: Sadarghat, Old Dhaka (Ahsan Manzil, Shankhari Bazaar)
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
What the Earth Leaves on Us; is a participatory climate-art project exploring the relationship between river ecologies, material memory, and traditional craft. Through nature and River prints, collaborative clay-making inspired by Tepa Putul, and collective climate conversations, students, artists, and artisans come together to reflect on environmental change and inherited knowledge. Bringing prints, clay forms, and a handmade zine into a shared installation, the project asks how artistic collaboration can preserve local stories while imagining more sustainable relationships with the environments we inhabit.
Pollution in the Buriganga River threatens aquatic ecosystems and affects communities that depend on the river for fishing, transport, trade, and other livelihoods. Contaminated water and unmanaged waste also contribute to environmental and public-health concerns, while urban runoff and flooding can worsen local living conditions. Beyond its ecological importance, the river holds cultural and historical significance for Dhaka. Its degradation therefore represents not only an environmental crisis but also a loss of shared heritage, livelihoods, and the community’s connection to the river.
"I hope participants and viewers develop a deeper emotional and environmental connection with the Buriganga River and recognise how river pollution affects both ecosystems and local communities. Through printmaking, collaborative clay-making, and shared storytelling, I want them to reflect on the relationship between traditional craft, cultural memory, and environmental change. The project encourages empathy, collective responsibility, and curiosity, inviting people to see art not only as a form of expression but also as a way to raise awareness, preserve local knowledge, and imagine a more sustainable future for the river." Ahsana Angona
Local Climate Issues Explored:
River pollution, water contamination, and climate-related flooding around the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
DATE: 13-15 November, 10am - 6pm
LOCATION: Sadarghat, Old Dhaka (Ahsan Manzil, Shankhari Bazaar)
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
What the Earth Leaves on Us; is a participatory climate-art project exploring the relationship between river ecologies, material memory, and traditional craft. Through nature and River prints, collaborative clay-making inspired by Tepa Putul, and collective climate conversations, students, artists, and artisans come together to reflect on environmental change and inherited knowledge. Bringing prints, clay forms, and a handmade zine into a shared installation, the project asks how artistic collaboration can preserve local stories while imagining more sustainable relationships with the environments we inhabit.
Pollution in the Buriganga River threatens aquatic ecosystems and affects communities that depend on the river for fishing, transport, trade, and other livelihoods. Contaminated water and unmanaged waste also contribute to environmental and public-health concerns, while urban runoff and flooding can worsen local living conditions. Beyond its ecological importance, the river holds cultural and historical significance for Dhaka. Its degradation therefore represents not only an environmental crisis but also a loss of shared heritage, livelihoods, and the community’s connection to the river.
"I hope participants and viewers develop a deeper emotional and environmental connection with the Buriganga River and recognise how river pollution affects both ecosystems and local communities. Through printmaking, collaborative clay-making, and shared storytelling, I want them to reflect on the relationship between traditional craft, cultural memory, and environmental change. The project encourages empathy, collective responsibility, and curiosity, inviting people to see art not only as a form of expression but also as a way to raise awareness, preserve local knowledge, and imagine a more sustainable future for the river." Ahsana Angona
Local Climate Issues Explored:
River pollution, water contamination, and climate-related flooding around the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Saiyon Kongkea Festival
Solarpunk Cambodia // Cambodia
A river-based festival titled 'evening waters' focused on the rich culture and historical heritage of Kampong Thom, local communities and place-based crafts, contemporary art and connection to the Steung Sen river. Organized by Solarpunk Cambodia and moved by a passion in imagining regenerative futures through art, ecology & community, this public arts festival weaves meaningful memories with hopeful collaborations to offer environmental art experiences to under-served populations in Cambodian countryside. Engaging youth and artists to bring lively discussions regarding climate resilience and co-create a way forward in one of the most affected ecosystems in our current environmental crisis.
DATE: 14-25 November, 3:30pm - 8pm
LOCATION: Steung Sen town, Kampong Thom Province
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
Saiyon Kongkea (A Tide of Hope) blends contemporary art from our exhibition Ponleu: An Ecology of Hope featuring 76 artists from the Southeast Asia region with public installations and free events: from storytelling circles to videomapping and experimental concerts in heritage buildings, traditions and modernity weaved through art & Indigenous crafts workshops in a traditional hut and graffiti in a water tank tower, paired with photo-walks and village-style dialogues on a solar-powered cooling installation to address climate, memories and re-imagined futures.
Kampong Thom province is deeply affected by the climate crisis, exarcebated with the uncertainity of the current El Nino that's expected to bring longer drought early next year. This year already faced a longer dry season and highly condensed and strong monsoon, disturbing crops and the river flow. Almost every year Steung Sen river overflows to people's houses, including riverbank collapses and destruction of livelihoods, with dry season often reaching close to 40 degrees for extended periods of time. Land grabbing, deforestation and monocrops are also risking the lives and traditions of many, including local Indigenous groups.
"We hope to bring new artistic expressions to the local communities and help them understand climate issues while collecting stories of their connection to the river. Using art and collaboration as tools for increasing awareness and care for our ecosystem" Miguel and Tyta
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Heat waves, drought, changes in river flow, deforestation and biodiversity loss.
DATE: 14-25 November, 3:30pm - 8pm
LOCATION: Steung Sen town, Kampong Thom Province
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
Saiyon Kongkea (A Tide of Hope) blends contemporary art from our exhibition Ponleu: An Ecology of Hope featuring 76 artists from the Southeast Asia region with public installations and free events: from storytelling circles to videomapping and experimental concerts in heritage buildings, traditions and modernity weaved through art & Indigenous crafts workshops in a traditional hut and graffiti in a water tank tower, paired with photo-walks and village-style dialogues on a solar-powered cooling installation to address climate, memories and re-imagined futures.
Kampong Thom province is deeply affected by the climate crisis, exarcebated with the uncertainity of the current El Nino that's expected to bring longer drought early next year. This year already faced a longer dry season and highly condensed and strong monsoon, disturbing crops and the river flow. Almost every year Steung Sen river overflows to people's houses, including riverbank collapses and destruction of livelihoods, with dry season often reaching close to 40 degrees for extended periods of time. Land grabbing, deforestation and monocrops are also risking the lives and traditions of many, including local Indigenous groups.
"We hope to bring new artistic expressions to the local communities and help them understand climate issues while collecting stories of their connection to the river. Using art and collaboration as tools for increasing awareness and care for our ecosystem" Miguel and Tyta
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Heat waves, drought, changes in river flow, deforestation and biodiversity loss.
Karaoze Haze
SOGODOL (Dwiki Nugroho Mukti - Candra Pasetyo Wibowo) // Indonesia
Karaoze Haze highlights local forest fires as manifestations of structural failure and the global climate crisis, where the Global South becomes a "sacrifice zone." On scorched land, layers of dull plastic symbolize haze and climate indifference, forcing viewers to pierce visual distortion to find truth. Behind this veil, karaoke becomes a political gesture. As participants sing ecological songs in a stifling atmosphere, the work exposes global greenwashing that overlooks grassroots voices. Guided by two artists, this space enables collective climate grieving. Strained breaths within the "haze" assert that cries from the burned earth demand global accountability for clean air and climate justice.
DATE: 10 November (one day only!) 8pm - end.
LOCATION: Menganti Huis, Perum Menganti Permai D7 No.10, Hulaan, Kec. Menganti, Kabupaten Gresik, Jawa Timur 61174
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
Karaoze Haze articulates that local forest fires are not isolated events, but rather tangible manifestations of governmental failure and structural imbalances within the global ecology. Amidst an accelerating global climate crisis, nations in the Global South frequently become "sacrifice zones" for industrial extractivism and global consumerism. Situated upon land scarred by fire, a literal imprint of such destruction, this work contrasts local tragedy with a global ecological discourse that often feels abstract and detached. Four layers of dull, translucent plastic, which obscure one’s view, serve not only as a visual representation of haze, but also as an allegory for "ecocide" and global climate indifference; one must struggle to break through these physical barriers just to perceive the truth hidden behind the "smoke."
Behind this murky veil, the act of karaoke transforms into a political and performative gesture. As participants strive to select and sing songs with ecological themes, amidst visual distortion and a stifling atmosphere, the act exposes the falsehoods of global sustainability rhetoric (greenwashing), which frequently overlooks the voices of grassroots communities. Guided by two artists, this karaoke session transcends mere pop entertainment, becoming a space for reconciliation and collective "climate grieving." Through roars, songs, and labored breaths within the "haze," Karaoze Haze asserts that the voices rising from scorched earth are part of the Earth’s own cry, demanding global accountability for the right to breathe clean air and for a just ecological future.
"We hope people will learn that the fires that occurred were not merely ordinary natural disasters, but a structured crime." -Dwiki Nugroho Mukti
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Forest fires.
DATE: 10 November (one day only!) 8pm - end.
LOCATION: Menganti Huis, Perum Menganti Permai D7 No.10, Hulaan, Kec. Menganti, Kabupaten Gresik, Jawa Timur 61174
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required
Curatorial Statement:
Karaoze Haze articulates that local forest fires are not isolated events, but rather tangible manifestations of governmental failure and structural imbalances within the global ecology. Amidst an accelerating global climate crisis, nations in the Global South frequently become "sacrifice zones" for industrial extractivism and global consumerism. Situated upon land scarred by fire, a literal imprint of such destruction, this work contrasts local tragedy with a global ecological discourse that often feels abstract and detached. Four layers of dull, translucent plastic, which obscure one’s view, serve not only as a visual representation of haze, but also as an allegory for "ecocide" and global climate indifference; one must struggle to break through these physical barriers just to perceive the truth hidden behind the "smoke."
Behind this murky veil, the act of karaoke transforms into a political and performative gesture. As participants strive to select and sing songs with ecological themes, amidst visual distortion and a stifling atmosphere, the act exposes the falsehoods of global sustainability rhetoric (greenwashing), which frequently overlooks the voices of grassroots communities. Guided by two artists, this karaoke session transcends mere pop entertainment, becoming a space for reconciliation and collective "climate grieving." Through roars, songs, and labored breaths within the "haze," Karaoze Haze asserts that the voices rising from scorched earth are part of the Earth’s own cry, demanding global accountability for the right to breathe clean air and for a just ecological future.
"We hope people will learn that the fires that occurred were not merely ordinary natural disasters, but a structured crime." -Dwiki Nugroho Mukti
Forest fires.
COP OUT Call Out Problems, Offer Useful Transformations
Dr. Deliana Permatasari // Indonesia
COP OUT: Call Out Problems, Offer Useful Transformations is a hands-on community art project turning everyday plastic waste into practical local action. Using discarded cardboard packaging as a canvas, anyone can take five minutes to spot a nearby plastic problem, name a better alternative, and write or sketch how it affects their health and well-being. Through simple photos taken by everyday people, an active online showcase, and interactive collage exhibits, the project turns plastic from an overwhelming nuisance into real, doable steps for change. See it. Fix it. Swap it.
DATE: 9-15 November
LOCATION:
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Single-use plastic is no longer an abstract environmental headline, it is an immediate reality touching our food, our health, and our daily routines. COP OUT: Call Out Problems, Offer Useful Transformations channels that everyday frustration into tangible, community-scale action. Using discarded cardboard packaging as an accessible canvas, participants take five minutes to identify an immediate plastic problem, propose a viable swap, and write or sketch its impact on personal well-being. Arranged into collective collage installations and preserved through an open digital archive, these handheld cardboard notes demonstrate that genuine systemic change begins with what we choose to notice, question, and replace every day.
Even if we skip single-use cups outside, our online orders still bring piles of plastic wrap right to the house. The real headache is daily habits and the lack of support: public sorting bins are limited, and awareness about separating waste is still very low. People just throw everything into one bag. Plastic blows into roadside ditches or gets tossed into the river, choking water flow until it stagnates. When garbage pickups skip days, neighbors burn whatever is left on the curb. Without better habits, that whole messy cycle just keeps repeating.
"I don’t want to lecture anyone or hand out neat green tips. I just want people to stop and think, "Wait, I do this too." We walk past clogged gutters every day and let delivery packaging pile up by the front door until it feels completely invisible. I hope seeing this makes people actually notice their own daily habits instead of looking away. Nothing changes if we just shrug it off and accept the mess as normal." - Deliana Permatasari
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Single use plastics
DATE: 9-15 November
LOCATION:
- Pop-up exhibition at Institut Français d'Indonésie
- Online (submit a photo of your finished piece)
- Convenience Stores (more info to come)
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Single-use plastic is no longer an abstract environmental headline, it is an immediate reality touching our food, our health, and our daily routines. COP OUT: Call Out Problems, Offer Useful Transformations channels that everyday frustration into tangible, community-scale action. Using discarded cardboard packaging as an accessible canvas, participants take five minutes to identify an immediate plastic problem, propose a viable swap, and write or sketch its impact on personal well-being. Arranged into collective collage installations and preserved through an open digital archive, these handheld cardboard notes demonstrate that genuine systemic change begins with what we choose to notice, question, and replace every day.
Even if we skip single-use cups outside, our online orders still bring piles of plastic wrap right to the house. The real headache is daily habits and the lack of support: public sorting bins are limited, and awareness about separating waste is still very low. People just throw everything into one bag. Plastic blows into roadside ditches or gets tossed into the river, choking water flow until it stagnates. When garbage pickups skip days, neighbors burn whatever is left on the curb. Without better habits, that whole messy cycle just keeps repeating.
"I don’t want to lecture anyone or hand out neat green tips. I just want people to stop and think, "Wait, I do this too." We walk past clogged gutters every day and let delivery packaging pile up by the front door until it feels completely invisible. I hope seeing this makes people actually notice their own daily habits instead of looking away. Nothing changes if we just shrug it off and accept the mess as normal." - Deliana Permatasari
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Single use plastics
Soil Meteorisation
Ezekiel Sales // Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand Bangladesh and Singapore
Soil Meteorization is a multimodal platform which explores different layers of practices related to soil, climate and land-use changes brought over time. Drawing on the agronomist Amilcar Cabral’s emphasis on the influence of meteorological processes to create soil from the weathering of rocks, we delve into factors brought about by climate impacts and modes of environmental governance for creating matters of care and mutual support in various localities within the region of Asia Pacific.
By way of podcasts, video performances, a coffee ceremony, etc., we map possibilities for solidarity through the interrelatedness of our practices and place.
DATE: 9-20 November
LOCATION:
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Soil and self.
By way of podcasts, video performances, a coffee ceremony, etc., we map possibilities for solidarity through the interrelatedness of our practices and place.
DATE: 9-20 November
LOCATION:
- Pa Rang // Chiang Mai, Thailand
- The O Home
- Jatiwangi
- Saiyon Kongkea Festival // Cambodia
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Soil and self.
umabaybay: femme farmer & fisher folks forum
baryo balangaw creative initiatives, inc. // Philippines
Join us for an art gathering celebrating the stories, creativity, and resilience of women from farming and fishing communities. The exhibition features textile-based artworks incorporating embroidery, upcycled fabrics, and found objects, weaving together lived experiences and connections to land and sea.
Beyond the exhibition, a focus group discussion invites collective reflection and dialogue, while communal cooking, food sharing, and storytelling nurture connections through shared experiences. Along the mangrove coastline, a performative art installation brings creativity into conversation with the living ecosystem.
Together, we celebrate women's voices, collective wisdom, and the power of art to inspire climate action and community solidarity.
DATE: 14-16 November, 10am - 5pm
LOCATION: Pagatpat Mangrove Park, Sitio Masag, Panilongan, Buruanga, Aklan, Philippines
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Curating as Becoming reimagines curation as a living, relational, and transformative practice rather than the conventional presentation of finished artistic works. Rooted in feminist political ecology, it recognizes women farm workers and fisherfolk not merely as subjects of representation, but as co-curators, knowledge holders, and agents of ecological transformation.
Through collective storytelling, embodied memory, creative encounters, and site-responsive artivism, FEMME (feminist ecologies, mobilization, memory and empowerment) unfolds as an evolving process of shared authorship, where the boundaries between artist, curator, community, and environment become fluid.
In this process, the exhibition is not simply something to be viewed, but something to be collectively experienced, negotiated, and transformed.
The threat of Super El Niño places local farming and fishing communities at risk of crop losses, declining fish catches, water scarcity, and unstable household incomes. Combined with coastal erosion and ecosystem degradation, these pressures threaten food security and the natural resources that sustain community livelihoods. Women often bear additional burdens in managing household food, caring for families, and finding alternative sources of income. These interconnected challenges deepen existing inequalities and expose the vulnerability of local food systems, highlighting the urgent need for community-led climate action, ecological protection, and more resilient and equitable livelihood strategies.
"I hope participants and viewers will recognize the lived realities, resilience, and ecological wisdom of women in farming and fishing communities, whose stories are often overlooked in climate conversations. Through art, shared meals, storytelling, and collective dialogue, I hope they feel a deeper connection to the land, sea, and people who sustain our food systems. More than awareness, I hope this experience sparks empathy, strengthens solidarity, and inspires collective action toward climate resilience, food security, and ecological care. Ultimately, I want participants to see themselves not merely as witnesses to change, but as active contributors to shaping more just and sustainable futures." - Raz Salvarita
Local Climate Issues Explored:
food sustainability, coastal erosion, drought, health.
Beyond the exhibition, a focus group discussion invites collective reflection and dialogue, while communal cooking, food sharing, and storytelling nurture connections through shared experiences. Along the mangrove coastline, a performative art installation brings creativity into conversation with the living ecosystem.
Together, we celebrate women's voices, collective wisdom, and the power of art to inspire climate action and community solidarity.
DATE: 14-16 November, 10am - 5pm
LOCATION: Pagatpat Mangrove Park, Sitio Masag, Panilongan, Buruanga, Aklan, Philippines
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Curating as Becoming reimagines curation as a living, relational, and transformative practice rather than the conventional presentation of finished artistic works. Rooted in feminist political ecology, it recognizes women farm workers and fisherfolk not merely as subjects of representation, but as co-curators, knowledge holders, and agents of ecological transformation.
Through collective storytelling, embodied memory, creative encounters, and site-responsive artivism, FEMME (feminist ecologies, mobilization, memory and empowerment) unfolds as an evolving process of shared authorship, where the boundaries between artist, curator, community, and environment become fluid.
In this process, the exhibition is not simply something to be viewed, but something to be collectively experienced, negotiated, and transformed.
The threat of Super El Niño places local farming and fishing communities at risk of crop losses, declining fish catches, water scarcity, and unstable household incomes. Combined with coastal erosion and ecosystem degradation, these pressures threaten food security and the natural resources that sustain community livelihoods. Women often bear additional burdens in managing household food, caring for families, and finding alternative sources of income. These interconnected challenges deepen existing inequalities and expose the vulnerability of local food systems, highlighting the urgent need for community-led climate action, ecological protection, and more resilient and equitable livelihood strategies.
"I hope participants and viewers will recognize the lived realities, resilience, and ecological wisdom of women in farming and fishing communities, whose stories are often overlooked in climate conversations. Through art, shared meals, storytelling, and collective dialogue, I hope they feel a deeper connection to the land, sea, and people who sustain our food systems. More than awareness, I hope this experience sparks empathy, strengthens solidarity, and inspires collective action toward climate resilience, food security, and ecological care. Ultimately, I want participants to see themselves not merely as witnesses to change, but as active contributors to shaping more just and sustainable futures." - Raz Salvarita
Local Climate Issues Explored:
food sustainability, coastal erosion, drought, health.
Balde sa Siyudad
Ria San Gabriel with Paolo Dumlao // Philippines
Balde sa Siyudad (“Bucket in the City”) is a public Butoh performance using expressive movement to explore water scarcity and survival. It forms part of Bucket Naman Ganon?, a wider inquiry whose title plays on the Filipino expression “Bakit naman ganoon?” (“Why is it like this?”). The work draws on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for households to collect rainwater ahead of Super El Niño, questioning whether individual efforts are enough as communities and farmers face water shortages and growing industries, including AI-related infrastructure, place competing demands on shared water resources.
DATE: 13 November, 5pm
LOCATION: Marikina Freedom Park
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Balde sa Siyudad (“Bucket in the City”) is part of Bucket Naman Ganon?, a wider curatorial inquiry whose title plays on the Filipino expression “Bakit naman ganoon?” (“Why is it like this?”). Taking Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for households to collect rainwater ahead of Super El Niño as its point of departure, the performance uses the body and the humble bucket to question the limits of individual preparedness. As communities and farmers face water scarcity alongside growing industrial and AI-related demands on shared water resources, the work asks who must adapt, how shared resources should be prioritized, and who is accountable for these decisions.
Water scarcity and extreme heat affect households’ access to water, farmers’ livelihoods, and food security. While communities are encouraged to conserve water and adapt to climate crises, not everyone has the same resources to cope. Balde sa Siyudad and Bucket Naman Ganon? explore these inequalities and invite reflection on how responsibility for water security and climate preparedness can be shared between individuals, communities, and decision-makers.
"I hope to question whether individual efforts are enough, and who else must take responsibility for climate preparedness."
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Drought.
DATE: 13 November, 5pm
LOCATION: Marikina Freedom Park
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
Balde sa Siyudad (“Bucket in the City”) is part of Bucket Naman Ganon?, a wider curatorial inquiry whose title plays on the Filipino expression “Bakit naman ganoon?” (“Why is it like this?”). Taking Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for households to collect rainwater ahead of Super El Niño as its point of departure, the performance uses the body and the humble bucket to question the limits of individual preparedness. As communities and farmers face water scarcity alongside growing industrial and AI-related demands on shared water resources, the work asks who must adapt, how shared resources should be prioritized, and who is accountable for these decisions.
Water scarcity and extreme heat affect households’ access to water, farmers’ livelihoods, and food security. While communities are encouraged to conserve water and adapt to climate crises, not everyone has the same resources to cope. Balde sa Siyudad and Bucket Naman Ganon? explore these inequalities and invite reflection on how responsibility for water security and climate preparedness can be shared between individuals, communities, and decision-makers.
"I hope to question whether individual efforts are enough, and who else must take responsibility for climate preparedness."
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Drought.
A Pocketful of Elsewhere
Shirley Wong // Singapore
A Pocketful of Elsewhere is a participatory art project that asks: Can we fold the climate crisis into a pocket?
Inspired by childhood pocket toys, the project transforms discarded materials into handmade, woven pockets containing stories, poems and reflections on environmental issues across Asia-Pacific. Each pocket invites audiences to discover a story through its contents and a QR-linked digital archive, giving voice to experiences often overlooked in conversations about climate change.
By bringing distant environmental realities into intimate, everyday spaces, A Pocketful of Elsewhere asks what we choose to carry, confront or leave behind.
DATE: 17-29 November, 11am - 11pm
LOCATION: 7th Heaven KTV and Cafe, Singapore
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
From rising temperatures and transboundary haze to mounting waste, environmental challenges increasingly affect communities in Singapore and across Asia-Pacific. A Pocketful of Elsewhere brings these issues closer to home through personal stories and handmade pockets displayed in everyday spaces. By connecting local experiences with wider environmental realities, the project encourages empathy, dialogue and reflection on our shared responsibility.
Local Climate Issues Explored:
General climate issues
Inspired by childhood pocket toys, the project transforms discarded materials into handmade, woven pockets containing stories, poems and reflections on environmental issues across Asia-Pacific. Each pocket invites audiences to discover a story through its contents and a QR-linked digital archive, giving voice to experiences often overlooked in conversations about climate change.
By bringing distant environmental realities into intimate, everyday spaces, A Pocketful of Elsewhere asks what we choose to carry, confront or leave behind.
DATE: 17-29 November, 11am - 11pm
LOCATION: 7th Heaven KTV and Cafe, Singapore
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required.
Curatorial Statement:
From rising temperatures and transboundary haze to mounting waste, environmental challenges increasingly affect communities in Singapore and across Asia-Pacific. A Pocketful of Elsewhere brings these issues closer to home through personal stories and handmade pockets displayed in everyday spaces. By connecting local experiences with wider environmental realities, the project encourages empathy, dialogue and reflection on our shared responsibility.
Local Climate Issues Explored:
General climate issues
This is Fine: An Exhibition in Six Biomes
Kat Roma Greer and Bora Hong // Thailand
Micro Galleries and Pa Rang have combined forces to coordinate and curate a three-day climate awareness experience alongside the international climate conference taking place in in Turkey (COP31).
Pa Rang's outdoor grounds become a microcosm of the earth - a landscape you walk through, biome by biome, tracing a local X global journey through climate disruption, mitigation, and imagined solutions.
Each biome carries its own kind of pressure, purpose, beauty and innovative solutions. Together, they hold the interconnection between them: what happens in one system is never separate from the rest. We are all interconnected and inter-dependent, and together, we can create interconnected solutions.
Forests, rivers, oceans, grasslands, deserts and polar regions are connected through shared climate, water, biodiversity and atmospheric systems, meaning disruption in one place can trigger consequences thousands of kilometres away.
Scientific research increasingly shows that lasting climate solutions require communities to share knowledge, experience and innovation across borders, because no ecosystem, and no community, can thrive alone.
DATE: 19-21 November, 3pm - 9pm
LOCATION: Pa Rang, Chiang Mai
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required but is appreciated. See the website for details.
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Biome and community interconnectvity
Pa Rang's outdoor grounds become a microcosm of the earth - a landscape you walk through, biome by biome, tracing a local X global journey through climate disruption, mitigation, and imagined solutions.
Each biome carries its own kind of pressure, purpose, beauty and innovative solutions. Together, they hold the interconnection between them: what happens in one system is never separate from the rest. We are all interconnected and inter-dependent, and together, we can create interconnected solutions.
Forests, rivers, oceans, grasslands, deserts and polar regions are connected through shared climate, water, biodiversity and atmospheric systems, meaning disruption in one place can trigger consequences thousands of kilometres away.
Scientific research increasingly shows that lasting climate solutions require communities to share knowledge, experience and innovation across borders, because no ecosystem, and no community, can thrive alone.
DATE: 19-21 November, 3pm - 9pm
LOCATION: Pa Rang, Chiang Mai
COST/REGISTRATION: Free, no registration required but is appreciated. See the website for details.
Local Climate Issues Explored:
Biome and community interconnectvity
COP Out 2026 Collective
These applicants have been selected to come together to create a diverse APAC curatorial collective
- Ahsana Angona // BangladeshArtist / CuratorAhsana is known for her community-driven murals, figure drawing, and conceptual paintings. She is a Fearless Collective ambassador who works closely with marginalised groups.
- doc_dells // IndonesiaCreator + CuratorMy practice sits at a fierce, non-traditional intersection: it simply connects the dots between human well-being and the spaces we live in. Coming from a clinical background, I see public spaces through a medical lens. A neglected street, one without shade from extreme heat or proper drainage for heavy rains, directly impacts health and makes it much harder for communities to adapt to climate change. This approach is driven by the One Health concept, the fundamental belief that human survival is completely tied to our changing environment.
- Dwiki Nugroho Mukti // IndonesiaArtist / CuratorI specialize in creating project-based artworks with communities and society. I focus on environmental, educational, and village-related issues. create various exhibition activities with a community engagement approach. I want to make art practice closer to the community, because the issues I discuss often occur around me, especially environmental issues.
I work with a collective called ASRI located in Gresik. We focus on campaign practices to protect and preserve the environment through a cultural activity approach. I am a cultural researcher and archiver of visual practices. As a visual artist I work with various mediums, such as 2d, 3d, project-based art, digital illustration, and graphic design. - Ezekiel Sales // PhilippinesArtist/Curator/ResearcherEzekiel Sales (zeke) is an artist and researcher whose work revolves around food systems and geography. His practice centers on collective modes of learning through performance, spatial practice, and gardening. He is part of the platform called Performance Ecologies, where he developed performances such as Quantum Heap (2025) and Wah-Wah Ensemble (2026). He has been collaborating with the m(other)-child space based in Metro Manila called The O Home since its inception.
He is a contributing author to Halo-Halo Ecologies: Food and Environment Studies in the Philippines (University of Hawai‘i Press), and Language of Soil (Bloomsbury Publishing) an anthology about soil forthcoming next year. - Kat Roma Greer // Australia-Hong Kong-ThailandCurator / Maker / Cultural ManagerKat is a cultural manager, curator, creator, and urban disruptor for regenerative change.
She is driven by a belief that art must inhabit the cracks in the world: the forgotten edges, the places where systems breakdown and perspectives are not being heard - and, from those fractures, build something regenerative. Her practice is built on “creative insurgencies”: tactical, site-specific and site-responsive interventions that reclaim public space for communities, and together reinvent it as a site of imagination and collective agency.
Through Micro Galleries she has delivered 38+ initiatives across 30+ countries, from kampung communities in Jakarta, Arctic coastlines in Svalbard, townships in Cape Town, to overlooked towns in rural Australia. She is currently developing two creative works that centre the vital nature of polar environments. - Ra'z Salvarita // PhilippinesArtist / Curator / Community ActivatorRa’z Salvarita is a cross-disciplinary creative artivist. His creative endeavors reflect the convergence of the three pillars he primarily works with: Creative Healing Expressions, Sustainable Sacred Ecology, and Practical, Mindful Spirit Vitality.
He was an artist fellow for the following programme: Future Leaders Art Program (2020-2021 cohort) for the Australia Council of the Arts; fellow with the “Arts for Good” program by the Singapore International Arts Foundation; and is a Teaching Artist fellow with the Teaching Artist in Asia Exchange Workshop sponsored by the Korea Arts & Cultural Education Service.
He completed a degree in Mass Communication with a Certificate in Environmental Journalism at Silliman University. In 2018, he presented a TEDx Talk on “Artivism: Effecting Environmental Consciousness through Art.” - Ria San Gabriel // PhilippinesArtist · Dabbler · CuratorRia San Gabriel is a multidisciplinary creative focused on tech, inclusivity, and economic empowerment. A Makers Unite Amsterdam and Brisbane Artforce alumna, she applies participatory design through street art, interactive media, and community activations to center mental health, gender, and environmental equity. She co-founded a fashion-tech sustainability startup and worked with rural farmers and indigenous artisans on projects supported by the British Council Arts, University of the Arts London, Forest Foundation, UNDP, and the US Mission to ASEAN. She holds master's degrees in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (Design & IT) from the University of Queensland and Women & Development from the University of the Philippines.
- Shirley Wong //
SingaporeCurator, Writer, ArtistShirley Wong is a Singaporean curator, writer, artist and communications practitioner whose work explores how people encounter art, culture and one another. After more than 15 years in corporate communications and investor relations, she shifted her attention towards museums, public engagement and contemporary art. Her practice moves between curating, writing, research and artistic experimentation, with a particular interest in audiences who feel uncertain, excluded or underrepresented in cultural spaces. She is the founder of SUM+ARTS and ART PADI, an Asian Civilisations Museum docent, and a graduate of NUS Arts and Cultural Entrepreneurship and SOAS Asian Art, based in Singapore today. - Solar Punk // Cambodia + PortugalCommunity organiser + movementSolar Punk Cambodia, established in 2025, is a collective exploring alternative futures where people, nature, and technology exist in reciprocity and balance. Bringing together artists, curators, environmentalists, and dreamers, we are guided by a shared question: How do we cultivate a society that is honest, beautiful, and regenerative - one where all living beings can flourish according to their own nature, rather than conforming to the pressures of modern society?
Through creative exchange and collaboration with fellow collectives, including SeaPunks, Solar Punk Cambodia has helped cultivate the ideas, relationships, and foundations that continue to inform the vision we are realizing today.
Represented by Tytaart and Miguel Jeronimo
What is COP Out?
Ten curators across Asia-Pacific convene to decentralise COP31.
COP Out is a deliberate provocation - a small statement that while COP31 happens in Antalya, Turkey - micro injections of culture are happening outside this sphere of power.
This is the only globally decentralised curated arts response to COP31, coordinated from Asia-Pacific.
COP Out is a deliberate provocation - a small statement that while COP31 happens in Antalya, Turkey - micro injections of culture are happening outside this sphere of power.
This is the only globally decentralised curated arts response to COP31, coordinated from Asia-Pacific.
It's a curatorial collective in formation...
We have brought together emerging and early to mid-career curators across Asia-Pacific who are interested in public and community art, and believe that culture is one of the most powerful tools we have for climate action. Not culture as backdrop, not art as illustration for science, but curators and communities as genuine agents of change.
Through an open callout, we selected nine curators across the region to join our Artistic Director, Kat Roma Greer - forging the first COP Out Curatorial Collective in a 12-week online program/collaboration.
From August – November the Collective met regularly online to knowledge-share, develop a collaborative framework and plan for a public action during COP31 (9-20 November) in their community (and beyond!). This took the form of a group action, individual exhibitions, locally-relevant platforms, interlinked happenings, and complementary online activities. It is whatever COP Out cooks up, all whilst building the creative relationships that make genuine collective action possible.
COP OUT is also a longer invitation: to build an ever-increasing curatorial community that thinks collectively about how we programme, who we programme for, and what role public and community art plays in the most urgent conversation of our time. We're interested in knowledge-sharing that's genuinely reciprocal, collaboration that crosses time zones without losing specificity, and collective action timed to one of the biggest climate moments of 2026 - and that doesn't wait for institutional permission to matter.
Through an open callout, we selected nine curators across the region to join our Artistic Director, Kat Roma Greer - forging the first COP Out Curatorial Collective in a 12-week online program/collaboration.
From August – November the Collective met regularly online to knowledge-share, develop a collaborative framework and plan for a public action during COP31 (9-20 November) in their community (and beyond!). This took the form of a group action, individual exhibitions, locally-relevant platforms, interlinked happenings, and complementary online activities. It is whatever COP Out cooks up, all whilst building the creative relationships that make genuine collective action possible.
COP OUT is also a longer invitation: to build an ever-increasing curatorial community that thinks collectively about how we programme, who we programme for, and what role public and community art plays in the most urgent conversation of our time. We're interested in knowledge-sharing that's genuinely reciprocal, collaboration that crosses time zones without losing specificity, and collective action timed to one of the biggest climate moments of 2026 - and that doesn't wait for institutional permission to matter.