Collaborative dissent: a history

UGATLahi was formed in 1992, in response to the Philippine student movement’s theoretical inquiries into the role of culture and the visual arts in nation-building. At that time, Former Pres. Fidel Ramos’ vision of a “tiger economy” via the “Philippines 2000” program revealed irregularities between the rhetoric of First World globalization and the realities of Third World nations – a phenomenon with implications on Philippine cultural structures.

The group evolved into a cultural organization of cause-oriented and national democratic youth formations. It popularized the campaign for a nationalist culture through sponsoring forums and collaborations with other art groups and supported the struggles of the region’s workers and urban poor sectors.

UGATLahi - as an art collective and a political organization- performs comprehensive cultural tasks. It organizes and participates in workshops, art exhibitions, festivals and performances. Engaging in grassroots level organizing, it has chapters in various schools and urban poor communities.