Beyond Nostalgia: Three Lessons from the UGNAYAN Exhibit

Dubbed “UGNAYAN: Mga Kuwento ng Talában sa Pamayanang UP Diliman” (UGNAYAN), the exhibit organized by the UP Diliman Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPD-OICA) and Bulwagan ng Dangal University Heritage Museum (BnD) had its first run from March 12 to March 22, 2024 as part of this year’s UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival (UPD ACF). 

Aligned with the ACF’s theme “Pamamalagi at Pamamahagi,” UGNAYAN continues the narratives of placemaking first portrayed during the 2019 ACF and builds on the physical and online exhibit “Lupang Hinirang: Mga Kuwento ng Pagsasalugar ng UP Diliman (Lupang Hinirang)” launched during the same year. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the move of the UP Oblation from Ermita, Manila to Diliman, Quezon City, the 2019 Lupang Hinirang exhibit established and explored the multiple layers of placemaking in what was then recognized as UP’s flagship campus in Diliman. 

Five years later, as the ACF commemorates the 75th year of this act of settling in Diliman, UGNAYAN attempts to contribute to this ongoing discourse on UP Diliman’s heritage – focusing on intertwined relationships within the UP community and the effects that these relationships have among those in them. In addition, the exhibit also features the accomplishments of the University and its acts of service towards neighboring communities, its own constituents, and of course, the country. 

“Sa kasalukuyang exhibit, mas pinaigting ang pagpapalitaw sa iba’t ibang mga tinig ng mga naninirahan at namamalagi sa ating unibersidad [In the current exhibit, the voices of our community’s different inhabitants are amplified],” UPD-OICA Director Monica Fides Amada W. Santos emphasized during her message at UGNAYAN’s launch held on March 12, 2024 at the Palma Hall First Floor Lobby.

UPD-OICA Director Santos delivering opening remarks during UGNAYAN’s launch

“Ipinakita rito na sa bawat nailimbag na yugto ng ating kasaysayan, mayroong mga karanasan at punto de vista na hindi naisasama ngunit may kapantay na halaga. Tinatawag tayo upang maging mapagkilatis at patuloy na magsaliksik upang mas magkaroon ng mas malalim na pag-unawa sa ating pinanggalingan at maaari pang puntahan [The exhibit reveals that for every stage in our history, there are experiences and perspectives that are excluded but should be equally valued. We should continue to be critical of dominant narratives and do further research for a deeper appreciation of our past that could lead us towards a better-informed future],” Director Santos continued.

Divided into three components, UGNAYAN portrays these different stages. In his message during the exhibit launch, BnD curator and Assistant Professor Mark Louie Lugue described this journey as mimicking the same exodus that happened 75 years ago.

“Ang eksibisyon ay nakatayo sa tatlong espasyo, sa tinatawag na ‘academic core’ ng campus: Sa Palma Hall o AS, kung saan dumaan ang lahat ng mag-aaral ng pamantasan bilang ito ang tahanan ng maraming General Education courses; Sa Benitez Hall, na isa sa pinakaunang gusaling nabuo sa campus; At sa bahagi ng UP Academic Oval na nagdurugtong sa dalawa, na siyang bukas sa publiko na bumibisita sa atin [The exhibit stands on three spaces, located in an area better known as the campus’ ‘academic core’: At Palma Hall or AS, where all students of the University pass through since it has been the home of several General Education courses; At Benitez Hall, which is one of the first buildings erected in the Diliman campus; and at a portion of the UP Academic Oval that links the two, which is open to those from the outside visiting our community],” Curator Lugue explained.

BnD curator Lugue discussing the exhibit with UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II

While the first 10-day run of the exhibit is over, and as we wait for its upcoming public re-launch in the Quezon City Hall in May 2024, below are three lessons to reflect on from the UGNAYAN exhibit.

1. UP Diliman is not just a campus.

Welcoming exhibit-goers at the entrance of the exhibit at the Palma Hall Lobby is an image of an acacia tree – its branches forming a web of scenes inside the campus.

UGNAYAN’s exhibit panels at the Palma Hall First Floor Lobby (left) and poster along the UP Academic Oval (right)

“Sentro sa imahe ng eksibisyon, makikita sa punong ito ang pagsasanga-sanga na maaaring simbolismo sa ating pagkakaiba-iba bilang mga tao. Ngunit sa ating punto de vista, habang tinitingnan ang mga punong ito, makikita natin na tila nagkakahabi-habi ang mga sanga nito [Central to the theme of the exhibit is the acacia tree which branches out, that may symbolize our differences. At the same time, looking at it from a particular angle, we can see that the branches seem to weave together],” Lugue said during his message at the exhibit launch.

At the Palma Hall exhibit site, we get a glimpse of these perspectives told through various lenses. Newspaper clippings and official documents are juxtaposed to show that even before the University’s exodus to Diliman, opinions were already split into those in favor and those in opposition of the move. In another section of the Palma Hall component of the exhibit, maps, photographs, and audio-visual recordings document the forms of disruption that followed as UP’s academic community began settling in a space with an already existing community (i.e., Krus na Ligas).

Featuring one-on-one interviews, the other sections of the Palma Hall exhibit component portray the interplay of perspectives on issues concerning academic policies, shelter, food services and commerce, transportation, and freedom of expression and security – highlighting a community working together towards victories amidst struggles for rights.

“Sa mga banggaan ng mga paniniwala o sa pakikisalamuha at pakikiisa sa mga sektor ng api, ang mga miyembro ng pamayanan ay nakararanas ng pagkatuto. Ang kanilang pag-iisip ay natatasa. Ang kanilang halagahan ay nahahasa [Members of the UP community learn through conflicts between beliefs, or when they engage and act in solidarity with oppressed sectors. Their thinking is sharpened. Their values are formed],” Lugue reiterated in the same opening message.

Students, faculty, alumni, residents, and community leaders visit the UGNAYAN exhibit during its launch

As UGNAYAN puts it, UP is far more than just a campus. It is a community alive in its diversity – diversity of perspectives, motives, and goals. It is also a community that nurtures growth. 

Lugue said, in an interview after the exhibit launch, that UP students in particular should take advantage of this: “Hindi ka narito para lang makuha mo ang diploma mo at magkaroon ka ng trabaho after. You are communing with a particular community wherein you can learn from your experiences as you go along your stay in the University [You’re not just here to get your diploma and find a job after. You are communing with a particular community wherein you can learn from your experiences as you go along with your stay in the University].”

2. Heritage is more than old buildings.

If we think of heritage just as buildings, we miss so much of its nuances.

While UGNAYAN does display archival photos of UP’s landmarks and their historical significance, it focused on telling stories of those living in UP.

“Heritage is living,” Curator Lugue emphasized. “Hindi lang siya pagtingin sa mga lumang gusali. Tinitingnan din kung paano ang mga sistema ng halagahan at significance ng mga tao na namumuhay doon sa partikular na lugar ay nagbabago. Kaya importante na makita natin kung paano nagbago ‘yun through time [It’s more than just looking at old buildings – it means looking into how the value systems of people who live in a particular place change. So, it’s important that we see how they have changed through time].”

Through listening booths, we get to hear rich, almost raw snippets of interviews with UP’s maninindas, jeepney drivers, students, residents, guards, refugees, alumni, faculty, and community and religious leaders. 

Little to no editing was done to the excerpts of the interviews, Lugue clarified, in order to “present the raw experience of listening to these people who don’t usually get heard by the majority of the members of the community.” The listening booths are part of BnD’s proof-of-concept as it establishes its archive of the UP Diliman community.

A student listens to an interview snippet of her friend at one of the listening booths

One of the interviewees, Lumad student Arra (not her real name) who attended UGNAYAN’s launch, said that this representation means a lot for her community.

“Ang pagiging bahagi ng exhibit, malaking bagay siya kasi tanda ito na sa kasaysayan ng UP, naging santuwaryo siya ng iba’t ibang sektor. Masaya ako na naging bahagi ng exhibit na ito dahil hindi naman individual ang represented; kundi, karanasan ng pakikibaka ng mga Lumad [Being a part of the exhibit is a big deal because it is evidence that in the history of UP, it has been a sanctuary for different sectors. I am happy to be a part of this exhibit. What is represented is not just me as an individual; rather, it represents the collective experience, the history of the struggle of the Lumad],” she said.

3. The story of UP is not yet done.

As curator Lugue emphasized during UGNAYAN’s opening, the 75th anniversary of UP’s move to Diliman is more than a celebration: It is an opportunity for us to look back and reflect on ways forward.

Director Santos likewise reminded in her message: “Hindi iisa ang kwento ng UP Diliman. Hindi pa tapos ang kwento ng UP Diliman. [The story of UP Diliman is not singular. The story of UP Diliman is not yet done].”

UGNAYAN posits that in the process of looking inward, we also look outward. The last two components of UGNAYAN offer a picture of what it means to situate the University beyond the campus, specifically reflecting on UP’s broader role in Philippine society.

Artist Zeke Sales ends a performance with a pose mimicking the Oblation during UGNAYAN’s launch

Traversing a section of the UP Academic Oval lined with acacia trees, we see photos of the UP community as it interacts with different sectors outside by opening activities and sites to the public through historical events and traditions (e.g., UP Fair, Lantern Parade), and formations (e.g., Regional Organizations).

Further expanding UP’s sphere of influence, the third component on display at the Benitez Hall showcases projects and initiatives as the University pursues extension work, partnerships, and collaborations in fields such as archaeology, science and technology, arts and culture, medicine, and human rights and democracy. This is Pamamahagi in its essence, as UP adheres to its mission of serving the people through its valuable contributions to learning and knowledge to address societal challenges.

Exhibit-goers at the last component of UGNAYAN in Benitez Hall

At the end of the exhibit in Benitez Hall, the same image of a tree on a freedom wall invites us to write on pieces of paper shaped like leaves – as if to say, “You are also part of this story.” By the end of UGNAYAN’s launch, various notes have already been posted, filling the branches with collective calls, aspirations, and commitments that serve as a reminder of the role of both the individual and the institution in shaping the stories of today and tomorrow especially in the face of distorted narratives.

The freedom wall at the end of UGNAYAN

Arra hopes the exhibit could plant these seeds in the next generation. 

“Hinuhubog tayo ng mga propesor natin at ng buong komunidad ng UP na bumalik talaga sa komunidad at magsilbi. At alalahanin ang lagi’t laging sinasabi sa atin: ano’t ano pa man ang mangyari, makatapos ka man sa pag-aaral o hindi, huwag humanay sa mga nang-aapi [We should recognize that we are being shaped by our professors and the UP community to serve. And remember what we are always told: whatever happens, whether you finish your studies or not, to never side with the oppressors],” Arra said.

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.