Pasalubong Padala Pabaon
[Spring 2010 ]

The Story of the Filipino Diaspora

Tala Berkes |  Therese Cruz |  Fred Galang |  Kristina Guison |  Marissa Largo

The works of art created within KAPISANAN are anchored within the paradigms of identity, in particular cultural identity, and the exploration of its many layers. Identity is the foundation of any artist’s work. For many it is the catalyst of a life’s work, and for others, their identity shapes the trajectory of their life’s work. As a culturally-focused arts community, KAPISANAN excavates the “baggage” of the Filipino Diaspora. We have only scratched the surface. In recent years, the theme of cultural “baggage” or, perhaps in this case, cultural “packages,” has been revisted often by artists within the KAPISANAN universe. As a culture of “packers,” Filipinos send, bring, and share balikbayan boxes, baon (packed food, left-overs or otherwise), pasalubong (welcoming gift), with family and friends. Pieces of their lives, their stories, and inadvertently, their lived struggle, contained in neat packages. Pasalubong, Padala, Pabaon features new works by five artists who were asked to imagine and create a piece of what they see in these Filipino “packages”. Personal story, political implication, historical consequence play out in each artists’ work. Collectively, their pieces are a literal, metaphorical and symbolic manifestation of the digging we, as a community, are still doing in our search and discovery of our collective identity as Filipinos in the Diaspora.

Caroline Mangosing, Co-Curator, KAPISANAN Executive / Artistic Director

Works Curated by Caroline Mangosing and Jodinand Aguillon

Curatorial theme by Isa Palanca