Golden Years Exhibit
March 29 - April 30, 2024
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Location
Asian American Resource & Cultural Center
Address
723 W. Maxwell St., Select
Calendar
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Golden Years Weighing Philippine Martial Law 1972-1981 is an exhibition of photographs on the
Philippines that appeared in U.S. newspapers in the 1960s-1980s. It is organized to commemorate the
50th anniversary of Philippine martial law, which was declared by the late President Ferdinand E.
Marcos on September 21, 1972. The show’s title is an ironic take on how the Marcos family labeled
their rule as the “golden age of Philippine economy and society.” By juxtaposing this claim with visual
documentation of the era, the show examines the malleability of perception, the elasticity of reality,
and the vulnerabilities of individual and national memory.
The exhibit likewise underscores the role of the foreign press in documenting and examining history as
it unfolds. First published in the U.S. papers, the photographs on display are source documents,
detached from the influence and intervention of their subjects. Victor Barnuevo Velasco, curator, notes
that “the photos are snapshots of history as they happen. The distance of the publication from the site
of the events provided objectivity that normally comes only with the passage of time.”
The photographs form part of a private collection promised to the Albay Arts Foundation. The exhibit is
sponsored by Malaya Movement Chicago, DAKILA, and Active Vista. It is hosted by the Asian American
Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC) at University of Illinois Chicago. It is open to the public during
and runs from March 29, 2024 to April 30, 2024. This is the eleventh stop of this national tour.
Date posted
Apr 9, 2024
Date updated
Apr 9, 2024