Lara Acuin

Biography

I am a writer, researcher, teacher, and curator. My practice spans multiple roles, and I often describe myself as a cultural worker. While the term is not always widely embraced, I value it for its ability to encompass the diverse and often fluid forms of labor that shape the arts and cultural sector, particularly the informal and precarious conditions in which many practitioners work. For me, it reflects a commitment to working within contexts of both urgency and possibility.

I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in art history and have formal training in film, media, and museum practice, including professional training through the International Council of Museums (ICOM). I previously served as Head of Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design and have curated exhibitions for the Cultural Center of the Philippines as an independent practitioner, including the first retrospective of a pioneering feminist artist in the Philippines.

I am currently part of the editorial team for a forthcoming monograph on the work of Imelda Cajipe Endaya, a publication supported through grants from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines.

Most recently, I was appointed Chairperson of the Creative Industries Management program at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde. Following a major curriculum redesign, the program is working to expand understandings of the creative industries beyond frameworks of trade and production. I aim to contribute to models and developing projects that foreground practice-based research, encourage more expansive institutional models, and strengthen essential skills in cultural management and fundraising.

Lara Acuin, OIC Chairperson at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, Manila, Philippines, has been awarded by Fernando Zobel de Ayala (Manila, Philippines).