'KM 0 (Kilometer Zero)' at Quezon Memorial Circle

MANILA, Philippines – The French Embassy in the Philippines and the Quezon City Government, together with Alliance Française de Manille and the Niepce Museum in France, are organizing a photography and video exhibit to be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

The exhibit titled “KM (Side by Side: Photo and Video Projects in Public Spaces opens on May 4 at 5 p.m. at the pylon (tower) area of the Circle. It is part of FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season in the Philippines. The show is on view unti June 4.

Giant photo installations featuring the work of Filipino photographer Jake Verzosa and French photographer Charles Freger will be placed throughout the park for an entire month.

Verzosa will exhibit black-and-white portraits of the last tattooed women of Kalinga tribe dressed in their traditional costumes and displaying the extensive traditional tattoos of their tribe. Freger, on the other hand, will showcase the bright colors and energetic dances of the Filipino performers at this year’s recently concluded Sinulog festival. Filipino director Raya Martin is also slated to show a short silent film revolving around the fitness theme.

A photograph by French photographer Charles Freger

Quezon City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista, and French Ambassador to the Philippines Thierry Borja de Mozota, will host the cocktails.

Mayor Bautista sees the project as a great opportunity to showcase the attractiveness of the Quezon Memorial Circle as a unique venue for public events. “The QMC has undergone several transformations in recent years. We want people to see it as more than just an ordinary park but as a venue where people can engage in all sorts of activities like concerts, film showing, poetry reading, conferences while enjoying the natural amenities of the park,” he says.

Quezon Memorial Circle is the heart of the park system of Quezon City, as envisioned by the City’s planners. It is a 25.37 hectare national park first reserved as the central park by a proclamation of President Elpidio Quirino in 1949, at the time when the plan was to make Quezon City the capital of the Philippines.

Aside from the Quezon City Government, other sponsors of the FrancoPhil cultural program include Total, Air France KLM, Daniel Hechter, L’Oréal Philippines, VEOLIA Water, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Supply Oilfield Services, Marithé François Girbaud, Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Philam Life, ROS Music Center, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Chameleon Association, Rustan’s, Sinulog Foundation, Waterfront Cebu Hotel and Casino, Fashion Watch and Jewelmer.

For information, call Monica Marcelo at the Communications Coordination Center of the Quezon City Government at 444-7272 local 1209-1210, or e-mail monica_marcelo@yahoo.com; or Merlita Grubaoat the Cultural and Tourism Affairs Office of the Quezon City Government at 444-7272 local 8844-8845.

The French Embassy staff with one of the 24 large-scale photos to be displayed in the exhibit