Revisiting Footprints of Forgotten Places in Nic Navarro’s Katha Gallery Exhibit

Nic Navarro’s gallery exhibition Katha brought forgotten landmarks and lesser-known historical sites back into the spotlight. With a reception held on August 24, 2026 at the NCCA Gallery, the exhibition spotlights paintings of what was once forgotten edifices like Pio Valenzuela’s house catering the printing site of Ang Kalayaan during Spanish colonization, the Panciteria Macanista de Buen Gusto that was mentioned in Jose Rizal’ El Filibusterismo, and other neglected historical landmarks.

The artist transforms bare canvases into arenas of inquiry and speculation, drawing deeply from themes of architecture, history, and collective memory.

Standing alongside him at the exhibition opening were the creative minds who built Katha from the ground such as exhibit writer Kaye O’yek, curator Philip Paraan, landscape artist Alan Tan, production designer Ohm David, and artist Telle de Leon, whose collective work gave form and color to the reimagined historical landmarks.

The gallery is not just a place to remember the country’s many forgotten heritage sites but witness how these spaces stood the test of time.

In his discussion, Navarro shred that he was inspired by the idea of how time alters and even diminishes significant properties for commercial expansion, thus abandoning the scattered pieces of history that built the nation.

Building on familiar sites and signs, this month’s gallery exhibition takes you closer to history while reminiscing unconsciously abandoned heritage sites that Nic Navarro reinvigorates through the spirit of art.