The University Philippines Open University Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (UPOU-FICS) held a one-week mini-exhibition by FICS-run BUKAS lab on Wearable Futures on 02 March to 01 April 2023 at the Oblation Hall, UPOU Headquarters, Los Banos, Laguna.
This was conducted to kick off the celebration of the 28th founding anniversary of the University, with the theme University of the Future: Reimaginations, Reconfigurations, Realizations. The exhibit was officially opened by Hon. Nestor G. Yunque, UP Vice President for Administration; Dr. Melinda dP. Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor; Dr. Jean A. Saludadez, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration; and Dr. Diego S. Maranan, FICS Dean and exhibit lead.
(L-R) Dr. Jean Saludadez, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrationn; Dr. Melinda Bandalaria, Chancellor; Dr. Nestor G. Yunque, UP VP for Administration and Dr. Diego Maranan, Dean of FICS.
The exhibition, called Wearable Futures, had two major components and presented the undergraduate student outputs from the Wearable Futures Hackathon: a 12-week-long hybrid learning experience collaboratively created with and for undergraduate students at UPOU and explores wearable technology, e-textiles, speculative design, and futures thinking.
The exhibit featured five wearable prototypes exploring information security, physical safety, human movement, farming, and climate change, by sixteen students of the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies program: Hannah Beraquit, Arvic Angelo B. Cruz, Joshua Albert C. Dema-ala, Airiel Licca Depante, Sapphire Marilag M. Dulorzo, Vernice Bethel C. Gica, Michelle Lado. Faye Anjeli S. Lopez. Laryze Lozano, Patricia Martillano, Pauliana Jamie R. Nicolas, Wrynz Dale Sumande, Rajmyrr S. Suva, Myles Lorraine Tuason, Rel Daryle Dane R. Valle, and Marciano C. Virola III.
Moreover, the works-in-progress by the 2022 fellows of the Emerging Futurist Residency, a research and creative virtual/in-person program focused on supporting and nurturing exploration by multidisciplinary teams from different fields were also showcased. It aimed to deconstruct dominant paradigms about the future and developed alternative models through a combination of critical inquiry and hands-on experimentation.
The 2022 cohort–composed of fashion designer-architect JJ Aquino, researcher-creative producer Franchesca Casauay, and fashion designer-illustrator Renz Reyes–explored individually and collectively various aspects of the Terno, arguably the Philippines’ most iconic national dress. With Casauay guiding the overall creative production, Aquino and Reyes dismantle and reimagine the Terno’s materiality, construction, and sociocultural function, experimenting on how a Terno might look, move, and come to be in the near future.
The initiative was led by FICS Dean Dr. Diego Maranan, with support from research assistants Jerome Suplemento and Lucky Vengua, in partnership with Space Ecologies Art and Design (SEADS) and the Metafurism Lab.
BUKAS Lab is a physical space and collaboration platform for pluridisciplinary and intersectoral initiatives in art, design, technology, and futures literacy. Bukas is an initiative of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies at the UP Open University and its partners, Space Ecologies Art and Design (SEADS) and Curiosity. As of 2023, its two major programs are the Wearable Futures Hackathon and the Emerging Futurist Residency Program. It is currently housed at the UPOU Offices at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Building in UP Diliman, Quezon City.
Contributed by the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies
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