The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) recently held Swipe Culture, a free three-day screening that examined how digital platforms have changed the way audiences consume videos. The event ran from July 23 to 25 at the museum in Manila.
Curated by artist Kaloy Olavides under the MCADxMovingImage program, Swipe Culture featured a mix of hybrid documentaries, video essays, narrative experiments, filmed performances, and archival audiovisions. The program aimed to explore culture, society, and politics through the moving image.
“As audiences grow increasingly accustomed to rapid, bite-sized content, attention spans shrink and the patience for long-form storytelling diminishes,” said Olavides, an art lecturer at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He pointed out that this shift challenges artists and filmmakers to rethink narrative structure, pacing, and audience engagement.
The screening presented two works from each featured Filipino visual and multidisciplinary artist, one early piece and one more recent, allowing viewers to trace how short-form content has influenced their storytelling and style.
“This juxtaposition offers a compelling lens to examine how the emergence of short reel videos has influenced the artists’ creative approach, stylistic choices, and storytelling strategies over time,” Olavides said.
Participants included Christian Encabo, Mads Lamanilao, Lyndon Santos, and Pam Miras on July 23; Min Dacua, Lena Cobangbang, Alice & Lucinda, Christina Lopez, and Lyle Sacris on July 24; and Erwin Romulo, Idan Crusz, Vic Balanon, Ferdz Valencia, MM Yu, and Rico Entico on July 25.
The screenings were held at noon each day and were free and open to the public.
