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Fil-Canadians raise art awareness through new collective

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Rowena Papasin

TFC News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/reU9tBCOOQ0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Young Filipino-Canadian artists have banded together to form an art collective called “Indioz Bravoz,” a nod to the 19th century group of Filipino revolutionaries to create greater awareness and expand Filipino art in Canada.“Los Indios Bravos” was a term coined by Dr. Jose Rizal as a name for their group of Filipino expats in Madrid, Spain in the 1890s.This turned the word “indios” on its head and became a badge of honor instead of a term of ridicule for the natives.Fil-Canadian artists took inspiration from this in forming the collective, with the aim of unifying Filipino artists across Canada and defining what their art is.&quot;There&#x27;s a lack of representation when it comes to Filipino art throughout the whole country,&quot; said Harvey Nichol. &quot;That&#x27;s why we wanted to make Indioz Bravoz as a sort of breaking that barrier between regional differences.&quot;Indioz Bravoz is on a touring exhibit that started in Montreal. It has also made a stop in Vancouver and will soon be staged in Calgary.The seven Filipino artists featured at the VS Creative Lab in Vancouver each have their own unique style.Nichol, who is from Calgary, has done murals, comic books and sculptures.He is proud of his roots from Tondo back in the Philippines, and he wants his work to reflect this pride.&quot;People think that we&#x27;re always up to no good, we&#x27;re gangsters,&quot; he said, referring to the slum area in Manila. &quot;You know what I mean? That we’re never amount to anything. So, it&#x27;s my way of showing that no, actually, like a lot of great people have come from Tondo.&quot;Moey Blanco and Ryle Ramirez are graphic artists who also came from Calgary.Blanco’s work is influenced by the Superflat art movement that originated in Japan while Ramirez’s art shows his background as an editorial cartoonist in Cebu.&quot;I wanted to join this group to convert what I&#x27;ve learned, all the process [and] skills that I&#x27;ve learned,&quot; he said. &quot;Through this group, I wanted to slowly use that and make more Filipino art.&quot;Ramirez, meanwhile, urged fellow artists to continue pursuing their craft.&quot;Whatever you’re thinking of, draw that,&quot; he said. &quot;That’s what you should give. You don&#x27;t have to compare your art or compare yourself to anything to say that you are worth it.&quot;Vancouver-based visual artists Mar Cortez and Marianne Valdez previously competed as a team and won first place in a live painting contest.Another artist, painter Mae Facundo, who is also based in Vancouver, is the granddaughter of Aling Lucing, of the famous Kapampangan sisig.The three shared the challenges of navigating between two cultures and how these experiences informed their art.&quot;My experience as a first-generation immigrant with my family living here is that I didn&#x27;t feel like I belonged,&quot; said Cortez. &quot;But I didn&#x27;t necessarily feel like I belonged in the Philippines either.&quot;Said Facundo: &quot;Growing up in you know a Filipino culture but then I&#x27;m also living in a predominantly white community, I&#x27;m working this nine-to-five…I actually got into art school but my parents were like “No” and in hindsight I understand that.&quot;Another artist in the group is Selena Barcenas who turned to ceramic art when the demands of her studies became too much.Cortez said that they would like all other Filipino artists here and elsewhere to be a part of their Indioz Bravoz collective.&quot;I want to open it up and have an open artist call and just do it not just in North America but [also] in the Philippines,&quot; he said. &quot;But there&#x27;s also a lot of people in the diaspora in general that I think would feel a lot more connected to our identity if they were in community with each other.&quot;Indioz Bravoz’s touring exhibit will wrap up in Calgary in November.

A group of young Fil-Canadian artists seeks to raise greater awareness and expand Filipino art in Canada.

A group of young Fil-Canadian artists seeks to raise greater awareness and expand Filipino art in Canada.

Art collective seeks to unify Filipino-Canadian artists

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Art collective seeks to unify Filipino-Canadian artists

Rowena Papasin,

TFC News

Published Oct 30, 2024 11:48 AM PHT

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