Dates: Thursday, 09 July 2026 to Sunday, 15 November 2026
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Design and Arts Campus (D+A Campus), Dominga Street, Malate, Manila
On Thursday, 9 July 2026, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila will open Your curious journey, a significant traveling exhibition by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur
Eliasson (b. 1967). Marking the final leg of an extensive international tour—following presentations at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Taipei
Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), and Museum MACAN in Jakarta—the exhibition marks the end of a multi-year regional dialogue.
Your curious journey offers a comprehensive survey of Eliasson’s three-decade practice, centering on themes of perception, embodiment, and the climate emergency. The exhibition
features pivotal works such as Beauty (1993), where water and light create a rainbow that shifts based on the viewer’s position, and Yellow corridor (1997), an immersive space utilizing
monofrequency lights to challenge physiological perception.
By working with scientific phenomena and natural elements—light, wind, water, and moss—not merely as subjects, but as active materials, Eliasson examines how we engage with our
surroundings. After the landmark exhibition concludes its journey in Manila, the works will return to the artist’s studio in Berlin. The MCAD show serves as a final invitation for the public to
explore how art can address global challenges and the constant state of flux in our environment.
Exhibition Highlights
The exhibition features works that explore climate, sustainability, and perception:
- Beauty (1993), a shifting and shimmering rainbow created by a spotlight and water nozzles
- Moss wall (1994), a sprawling vertical expanse of reindeer moss
- Yellow corridor (1997), an immersive space using monofrequency lights to challenge physiological perception
- The glacier melt series (1999/2019), a series of thirty C-prints documenting environmental change
The exhibition Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey is supported by the Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines, Mercedes Zobel, and Goethe-Institut Philippinen.
Special Programs
Public Lecture by Olafur Eliasson
Thursday, 9 July 2026, 2–3:30 PM
DAC Theater, 5F De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Design + Arts Campus
Free | RSVP required
https://bit.ly/YCJ-PublicLecture
Exhibition Opening
Thursday, 9 July 2026, 6–8 PM
Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila
950 P. Ocampo St, Malate, Manila
Free
RSVP: https://bit.ly/YCJ-ExhibitionOpening
Climate Symposium: “Transient Landscapes”
15–16 October 2026, 9 AM–5 PM
Screening Room, 12/F De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Design + Arts Campus
With registration fee
MCAD will host the climate symposium “Transient Landscapes: Art and Climate Narratives.” The title reflects the constant state of flux in human activity and the environment. The symposium will
feature conservationists, development workers, and artists.It will cover three vital subcategories:
- Anthropogenic Activity
- Ecosystems
- Sustainability Practices
Public Programs
July–November 2026
- Climate Stories Circle
Friday, 31 July 2026, 1:30 PM
Learning Commons, 8F De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Design + Arts Campus
Free
A facilitated conversation where participants share personal experiences of
environmental change to shape future perspectives. - MCAD Field Day: Sounds in Nature
Saturday, 15 August 2026
Free
An exploration of vibration and resonance, emphasizing perception as something
relational and continuously unfolding. - Golden Hour Photo Meet-up
Saturday, 29 August 2026, 5 PM
Free
A session at Manila Bay engaging with the fleeting qualities of light, inspired by
Eliasson’s exploration of light as a medium. - Terrarium Workshop
Monday, 7 November 2026, 3PM
The Loop, 8F De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Design + Arts Campus
With registration fee
A hands-on workshop reflecting on the delicate balance between living and non-living
elements. Please note that a small materials fee will be collected to cover the cost of
supplies provided to participants.
ABOUT MCAD
The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila is a non-collecting art
institution under the De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde that considers the larger ecosystem
of the Philippine art scene by presenting exhibitions, learning, and publications programs.
MCAD collaborates with local and international artists and institutions to amplify engagement
with contemporary art, in particular, and art and culture, in general. Since its establishment in
2008, MCAD has created interest in the practice, production, presentation, and interpretation of
contemporary art, contributing to the cultural vitality of Asia and the Philippines.
MUSEUM HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday 10 AM–6 PM
Sunday 10 AM–2 PM
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND DESIGN
GF De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde,
Design + Arts Campus, Dominga Street, Malate, Manila, Philippines 1006
www.mcadmanila.org.ph
Follow @mcadmanila on Facebook, and Instagram
De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde is a learning environment that nurtures students to develop their interests and passions, and trains them to become professionally competent in established industries and emerging fields of specialization.
At Benilde, learning in its many forms is encouraged. Spiritual creative pursuits, artistic endeavors, service to the community, awareness of environmental issues, and concern for the
common good are all part of the Benildean education. The College’s learner-centered philosophy is founded on the belief that each student is endowed by God with talents and gifts
that should be understood, appreciated and nurtured.
Selected Works
Olafur Eliasson | Beauty, 1993
Olafur Eliasson
Beauty, 1993
Spotlight, water, nozzles, wood, hose, pump
Dimensions variable
Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2025
Photo: Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
© 1993 Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson | Moss wall, 1994
Olafur Eliasson
Moss wall, 1994
Reindeer moss, wood, wire
Dimensions variable
Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark,
Singapore, 2024
Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures | Singapore Art Museum
Tate Collection, London, UK
© 1994 Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson | Yellow corridor, 1997
Olafur Eliasson
Yellow corridor, 1997
Monofrequency lights
Dimensions variable
Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2024
Photo: David St George
Courtesy of The Juan & Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires
© 1997 Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson | The glacier melt series 1999/2019, 2019
Olafur Eliasson
The glacier melt series 1999/2019, 2019
30 C-prints
226.6 x 478 x 4 cm
Installation view: Tate Modern, London
Photo: Michael Waldrep / Studio Olafur Eliasson
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
© 2019 Olafur Eliasson
Artists Bio
Portrait of Olafur | Eliasson Photo: Lars Borges, 2020
Born in 1967, artist Olafur Eliasson grew up in Iceland and Denmark. In 1995, he moved to Berlin and founded Studio Olafur Eliasson, which today comprises a large team of craftsmen, architects, archivists, researchers, administrators, cooks, programmers, art historians, and specialized technicians.
Since 1997, his wide-ranging solo shows—featuring installations, paintings, sculptures, photography, and film—have appeared in major museums around the globe. In 2003 he installed The weather project, an enormous artificial sun shrouded by mist, in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London, which was seen by more than two million people.
The first iterations of Your curious journey, which opened at Singapore Art Museum (SAM) in May 2024, traveled to Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, New Zealand in December. In 2025, the exhibition was on view at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan, before traveling to Museum MACAN, Jakarta, Indonesia. The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila, Philippines, is the final stop of Your curious journey.
Eliasson has produced numerous projects in public space to raise awareness of the climate crisis. In 2019, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for renewable energy and climate action by the United Nations Development Programme.
Eliasson lives and works in Berlin.
