EXHIBITION

Puerta Real Island

RUNWAY IMAGES BY RENZO NAVARRO. VIDEO SHOT IN COLLABORATION WITH JUDD FIGUERRES & CHASE CEGLIE FOR FF CHANNEL.

Toqa debuted its 1st collection at the 2018 Manila Biennale.

We staged the first ever runway show in Puerta Real Gardens, Intramuros. Under 17th century Spanish Colonial rule, the Gardens were reserved only for the Governor General's special occasions.

This performance announced an inclusive, contemporary vision of the tropics in a historically exclusive space. We cast mainstays in the underground artist community, middle-aged titas, Miss Philippines 2017 & those not ethnically of island but embodying core values as models. In collaboration, we created the music, an interactive textile & banana afterparty installation & a locally-sourced menu with Vitacoco & Margarita Fores. Access, via humor, is central to our practice.

By activating runway motifs in the context of Intramuros, we aimed not to destroy an archaic structure but to acknowledge its origin, operate out of its confines, evoking club culture & uniting queer, class transcendent ideas with fun: presenting an alternative model of interaction.