Castro, Karl

Born 1986, Pasig City, Philippines
Lives in Angono, Rizal and Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

● Education

Bachelor of Arts in Film and Audiovisual Communication, 2003–08
College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines (UP)
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Major in Visual Arts, 1999– 2003
Philippine High School for the Arts, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

● Solo exhibitions

ドリーム・アフター・ドリーム (Dream after Dream), curated by Shotaro Ikeda
Ishmael Bernal Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, 2024

ドリーム・アフター・ドリーム (Dream after Dream), curated by Shotaro Ikeda
Chidori Bunka, Osaka, Japan, 2023

From Angono
Giant Dwarf Art Space, Angono, Rizal, Philippines, 2019

Past lives
Angkla Art Gallery, Angono, Rizal, Philippines, 2018

Hypervisual
Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines, 2017

Social fabric
Jorge B. Vargas Museum, Quezon City, Philippines, 2016

Secret lives of books: Karl Castro, book designer
Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines, 2016

Two things
Silverlens, Makati City, Philippines, 2014
● Selected group exhibitions

Ortigas Arts Festival (Locations of freedom exhibit by vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery), Estancia Mall, Pasig City, Philippines, 2024

ALT Philippines (Galleria Duemila), SMX Hall 4, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines, 2024

50 years of Philippine design and beyond, curated by Marian Pastor Roces
National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila, Philippines, 2023

Metamorphosis: Art amidst change, curated by Jon Cuyson
Nexus Gallery, iACADEMY, Makati City, Philippines, 2023

Line of sight, curated by Jon Cuyson
Galleria Duemila, Pasay City, Philippines, 2023

The body is a circle, which comes home in the hands, curated by Nomina Nuda
Gravity Art Space, Quezon City, Philippines, 2022

In the forest, even the air breathes, curated by Abhijan Toto
Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy, 2020

About time
White Walls Gallery, Makati City, Philippines, 2020

The mirror cuts both ways
Espacio Manila and Artphile Gallery, Muntinlupa City, Philippines, 2020

Souls, soil, and sea
Artinformal, San Juan, Philippines, 2019

Happening now
Angkla Art Gallery, Angono, Rizal, Philippines, 2018

SaLang
West Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

Dissident vicinities, curated by Lisa Ito-Tapang
Bulwagan ng Dangal, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines, 2017

Open studio open wall
Thousandfold, Taguig City, Philippines, 2016


● Selected curatorial and exhibition design projects

Locations of freedom, Philippine Pavilion at the 15th Gwangju Biennale, curated by Avie Felix
National Asian Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea, 2024

Weaving women’s words on wounds of war, curated by Marian Pastor Roces
Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, 2022

Weaving women’s words on wounds of war, curated by Marian Pastor Roces
Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2022

Notes for tomorrow, traveling exhibition organized and produced by Independent Curators International, with exhibitions in China, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan, Turkey, USA, Zimbabwe, 2021-25

Scenes reclaimed: CCP 50 × Cinemalaya 15
Bulwagang Juan Luna, Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2019

The 70s: Objects, Photographs, Documents, curated by Ringo Bunoan
Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

End endo: Artists against contractualization
Bulwagan ng Dangal, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

What we talk about when we talk about the War on Drugs
Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

100 taon ng pangunguna sa edukasyon: Paghawan ng landas, paglinang ng larang
College of Education, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

From risk to resilience: Coastal cities at risk in the Philippines
Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2018

Rizal Library Nation Building, curated by Nikki B. Carsi Cruz
Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2017

Color in history: FHL now 20
Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines, 2016

 
● Grants and residencies

Osaka Artist-in-Residence Award
TRA-TRAVEL and The Japan Foundation Manila, AIRΔ vol.7, Osaka, Japan, 2023

Omehen: The garden as chronicle and strategy of resistance
Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines, 2019

National Committee on Cinema
National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2019

● Selected talks and workshops

Juxtaposing Art, Politics, and Nation (J.A.P.A.N.)
Presented by The Japan Foundation Manila and TRA-TRAVEL, UP Film Center, 2024

Expo ‘70 Tour with Karl Castro
TRA-TRAVEL and The Japan Foundation Manila, Osaka, Japan, 2023

A conversation with writer, color analyst, and Expo ‘70 researcher Manabu Miki
Chidori Bunka, Osaka, Japan, 2023

The Philippine Design Gene (Manila leg), part of a nationwide series of consultative roundtable discussions, presented by the Design Center of the Philippines, 2023

Brutal na pagmamahal: Documenting brutalist heritage with the Philippines with Brutalist.ph
Presented by Headroom, Dexterton, and Cardrian Builders, Taguig City, 2023

Project Banyuhay
A series of capacity-building workshops on digital storytelling for indigenous youth
Presented by NTFP-EP Philippines, Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network, Team Bukás na Bukás, 2023

Creativity for whom?
Online lecture presented by iAcademy, Makati City, Philippines, 2022

Usapang Design Episode 3: Design for a golden age
Online lecture presented by the Communication Design Association of the Philippines and Adobo Magazine, 2021

One with our audience: Notes on art and design for meaningful conversations
Online lecture presented by CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness, 2021
Uncovering Philippine book design
Panel with Ige Ramos and R Jordan Santos, moderated by book historian Patricia Jurilla
Philippine International Literary Festival
Pasay City, Philippines, 2018

The making of Kung Alam N’yo Lang
Panel with writer Ricky Lee and illustrators Jether Amar, Kenikenken, and Ivan Reverente
BGC Arts Festival, Taguig City, Philippines, 2017

Pageturners: The stories behind the books
Organizer and moderator of a series of panel discussions on independent publishing
Ayala Museum / Filipinas Heritage Library
Makati City, Philippines, 2016

The reader as designer
Moderator of a two-day book design workshop
Ayala Museum / Filipinas Heritage Library
Makati City, Philippines, 2016


● Press

Selected features and interviews
On creative practice –CNN Philippines
On film poster design –The Philippine Star

On book design –Coconuts Manila
On critical artistic pedagogy –Our Teaching Takes Shape As We Go

Selected publications
On public spaces –Rappler
On patriarchy –Flourish
On exhibition-making –Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia
On Indigenous struggle –Pinoy Weekly


● Academic affiliation

Lecturer, 2018-present
Department of Fine Arts & Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
School of Humanities, Ateneo de Manila University