“Nothing to Declare”, it’s a typical sign that you can see whenever you are in an airport. As long as you are not carrying any fruits or vegetables, or aren’t over the limit on cigarettes, alcohol or monetary instruments and the sort, this is the line where you pass thru.

Nothing to Declare exhibit here however is not happening in the airports, but is conducted in three museums consecutively. Nothing to Declare is a multi-venue and multi-media international art project that aims to contribute contemporary discussions on migration. The exhibit features 27 foreign and local artists working on a range of media.

Nothing to Declare is spearheaded by Flaudette May Datuin, Precious Leaño, and Josephine Turalba. The project aims to contribute discourse on migration, the movement of not just people across borders, but also of forms and realities across time and space. It also focuses on those who have nothing to declare, whose marginality is a source of intervention and strength. The visual discourse and presentations began at the Blanc Compound as the first venue, with the Yuchengco Museum and the UP Vargas Museum following through until 2012.

The Yuchengco Museum is the host of the second leg of Nothing to Declare. The exhibit is curated by guest curator Claro Ramirez, Jr., with participating international artists Mateo Amaral (Argentina), Dana Cojbuc (France), Ding Ren (Netherlands/USA/China), Dada Docot (Philippines/Canada), Hillerbrand + Magsamen (USA), Khaled Hafez (Egypt), Sol Kjok (Norway/USA), Thomas Kutschker (Germany), Sebastian Mahaluf (Chile), Nerea Martinez de Lecea (UK), Minou Norouzi (Canada), Ruth Schreiber (Israel), Martin Sims (Australia), Motohide Taguchi (Japan), Sonja Van Kerkhoff (The Netherlands), and Quint Welters (USA). From the Philippines, participating artists are Michael Bacol, Errol Balcos, Paulo Chavez, Joey Cobcobo, Raquel de Loyola, Tony Gonzales, Nikki Luna,Hanna Pettyjohn, Tes Pasola, Alma Quinto, Noel Soler Cuizon, and Josephine Turalba.

Paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, sound art, and video show the array of the artists' ideas, while some collaborative work has been done with partner communities. Nothing to Declare is also a starting point for various activities and programs, such as art educators' training workshops, an essay-writing contest for college students, education guides, and docent tours.

You will surely do not want to miss the bunch of eggs on a try that you can surprisingly “walk on”. Go on and give it a try, and tell me what you think.

Nothing to Declare at Yuchengco Museum is on view until January 29, 2012. The museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (632) 889-1234 or visit http://nothing2declare2011.wordpress.com/.