Top Photo (Left to Right): Mark Dy (Manila Bulletin), Ma. Elizabeth Gustilo (Ayala Foundation), Heather Variava (U.S. Embassy PH), Ruel Maranan (Ayala Foundation), John Labella (Ayala Foundation/Filipinas Heritage Library)

MAKATI CITY, Philippines – The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL), a unit of Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI), formally launched the Liberation: War & Hope exhibition on July 15, 2022 at the Ayala Museum.

Heather Variava, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in the Philippines

This inaugural exhibition re-connects FHL with the public after the museum’s two-year renovation. Admission is free, in partnership with the embassy. The exhibit is curated by renowned World War II historian Ricardo Jose. 

Ricardo Jose, Curator of Liberation: War and Hope

Conceptualized as early as 2019, this exhibit and its complementary programs under Project Liberation were planned and mounted during the pandemic. At the time, the library’s primary concern was to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. However, the ongoing pandemic brought about new challenges. FHL and its partners revisited the exhibit’s original concepts, addressing the need both to recall and to celebrate our history in these uncertain times. 

Adapting to health protocols, Liberation: War & Hope is a hybrid experience. The physical exhibition on Ayala Museum’s second floor features everyday objects, archival footage, photographs, and documents. These pieces capture the lives of Filipinos and Americans in wartime and during the emergence from the devastation, rebuilding the Philippines with optimism and hope. 

Enriching the educational component of Liberation: War and Hope are online programs. They include four workshops, four webinar lectures, and two videos. Through these virtual spaces, Liberation can reach Filipinos both here and abroad, as well as everyone interested in Philippine history. 

To bring these programs to life, the exhibition-making process involved online and in-person correspondence with the minds behind Rubbertree and Sensibly Good Design, Ruben and Trina Flores, Melchor Silvestre and Desi Reyes, Suzanne Yupangco, historian Ricardo Jose and the Filipinas Heritage Library team. Two videos were created, a mini-documentary with the help of Frames Per Story, while the 360-video animation was crafted by I Am Cardboard PH. 

Left to Right: Ruben Flores (Rubbertree Design Studio), Suzanne Yupangco (former FHL Head), Ricardo Jose (WWII Historian/Curator), Ma. Elizabeth Gustilo (Ayala Foundation Sr. Director for Arts and Culture), Heather Variava (Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy PH), Ruel Maranan (Ayala Foundation President), John Labella (FHL Head), Trina Flores (Rubbertree Design Studio)

Liberation: War & Hope and its complementary programs continue the Ayala Museum’s omnichannel approach. The physical exhibit inspired by FHL’s Roderick Hall Collection forms the core of the complementary programs implemented through digital technology. The onsite and online elements together complete a new museum and library experience. 

Liberation: War & Hope is located at the 2F gallery of the Ayala Museum Complex. The exhibition, free to all visitors, runs from July 15, 2022 until September 25, 2022.

Click here to learn more about the exhibit and our visitor guidelines.