Artists, curators, critics, academics, architects, designers and allied cultural workers are invited to participate in Locus: Interventions in Art Practice, which will be held at the Tanghalang Manuel Conde, Cultural Center of the Philippines, 8am-6 pm on August 8, 2002. Locus is the first of a series of conferences which will address glaring needs in the fields of criticism and curation. Historically, critics and curators the world over determine what kind of art and which artists receive attention and validation. In the Phillipines however, very little has been done to elevate the practice of those who work in these fields. It remains instructive that in other countries where a comparative emphasis on excellence has reigned among artists, equal weight has been placed on stimulating self-criticism and the flexing of critical faculties among artists themselves who not only celebrate aesthetics but reflect on why do they do what they do. The NCCA believes that they have much to learn from each other—both on the national and international fronts. Thus, output from this national conference will feed into a parallel international conference in October 2002. Further details on the conference including a topic outline are available on the website.