Open Fire: The Debut (opening night)

Thought I would post my speech for the event….

I LOVE CLUTCH.

Good evening and welcome to the Debut of Kapisanan Philippine Centre’s
Clutch Program!

In many ways this is also a bit of a debut for Kapisanan since this is
our first fully funded program.

Our vision for Clutch, and really our vision for Kapisanan as a whole,
is to equip young Filipinos, immigrant and 2nd, even 3rd generation
Filipino-Canadians alike to be able to stake their claim in Toronto,
and even Canada’s ultra diverse cultural landscape.

Our vision is for young Filipino-Canadians to have the space to
explore our rich culture and heritage, our history, and even our
idiosyncrasies, and be able to weave it into their own narratives, on
their terms; to be able to use that knowledge of self to paint their
own picture of Filipino cultural identity, use this as a foundation
for empowerment and assert themselves within this living breathing
cultural mosaic that is Toronto.

Through this amazing show of work, these young Filipinas in Clutch
have carved out their own space to initiate dialogue with all of you.
Parents, family, friends, the Filipino and the broader communities.
This is their chance to share their expression of their femininity,
their Filipina-ness, and ultimately their individuality, and at the
same time it is their chance to build community, to build with you
all. This is your time to engage in that dialogue with them too, so
please when you get the chance, talk to the artists, and build with
them.

Part of our vision for the young artists of Clutch is also to ensure
that they understand the importance of asserting the value of the work
they have put in. So you will see things for sale. Because being
enterprising and making money can and should be synonymous with being
creative, producing culture, and making art.

The participants were also encouraged and guided to plan, organize,
and put up the show you see tonight. So event planning, marketing,
promotions, the whole business of putting this together, it was all
them on top of the actual art work they produced! Congratulations
ladies! Everyone brought their A game, what you have all accomplished
is really above and beyond anything I could have dreamt up when I
wrote the grant!

It’s like what Malcolm Gladwell says: autonomy, complexity, and a
clear connection between effort and reward are three qualities that
work has to have if that work is to be meaningful.

We can only hope that the Clutch experience has resonated those
sentiments into the lives and dreams of these young women.

Thank you to everyone, the community, who have pitched in to make this
program a success. I want to shout out the fledgeling man purse or
murse program at Kapisanan. The young male members at Kapisanan who
have stood on the sidelines and watched the Clutch ladies do their
thing for the last 6 months, have been so inspired that they want
their own, hence murse. So ok boys, let’s see you all bring it!

Passing it on to the coordinator of the CLutch program, Tiffany naval,
to share with you her journey into helping create this program.

Enjoy the show. Thank you for coming.