BEHIND AND BEYOND THE FRAMES: ‘Cultural Workers, Not Creative?’ Opens Dialogue on the Invisible Labor Behind Art Shows

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A thought-provoking exhibit titled Cultural Workers, Not Creative? opened at the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art on May 17, initiating dialogue on the invisible labor and dual roles behind many art exhibitions.

Curated by artist-curator-art handler Lester Amacio, the show features 15 visual artists who also hold key roles in the cultural sector.

Participating artists include Ross Almendras, Justin Amrhein, Ivy Marie Apa, Julio Jose Austria, Moreen Austria, Eric John Eigner, Ricky Francisco, Dave Lock, Rhaz Oriente, Jumjum Ouano, Benj Pore, Amiel Roldan, RA Tijing and Amacio.

The exhibition explores the blurred boundaries between curatorial labor and creative freedom, focusing on individuals who operate as both facilitators and artists.

It underscores the tension between the professional neutrality expected of cultural workers and their personal creative agency.

The opening included Cultural Workers in Conversation, an art talk where artists and cultural workers discussed authorship, collaboration and the complexities of maintaining dual roles.

Amacio presented the behind-the-scenes work required to stage exhibitions, from logistics and handling to curatorial decision-making.

He highlighted a central paradox: cultural workers are expected to remain neutral, even while navigating their own artistic identities.

“At a certain point, you have to detach from your artistic self,” Amacio said. “That’s part of the job.”

Drawing on his experience with institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Amacio brings an international perspective to a local context.

The exhibit’s title—posed as a question—invites viewers to reconsider who qualifies as “creative” and how creativity is defined.

In an exhibition note, Dave Lock describes the show as confronting a “longstanding and often divisive inquiry”: Where does curatorial labor end and artistic expression begin?

Lock argues that curators, through arrangement and interpretation, help shape meaning just as much as the artists themselves.

This form of curatorial authorship, though often invisible, challenges traditional roles in the art world.

The exhibit also examines how experimental curatorial approaches can blur these lines further.

When display becomes a creative act, are curators still neutral mediators—or co-creators?

By addressing these questions, Cultural Workers, Not Creative? highlights the unseen work of cultural professionals and opens broader conversations about authorship, ethics and collaboration in contemporary art.

The exhibition runs through July at ILOMOCA, Casa de Emperador, Festive Walk Parade, Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao.

It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.