Sinag Bayan Cultural Arts Collective
Press Release

Groundbreaking visual arts exhibition to expose ‘untold stories’ of Filipino migration to Canada

4 October 2007

Vancouver, B.C. – A groundbreaking visual arts exhibition seeks to creatively expose the ‘untold stories’ of the Filipino community’s migration to Canada. Combining contemporary mural, photo, video and art installations, Maleta [suitecase in Pilipino] combines collaborative art-making and community development in a first-ever exhibition of its kind for the Filipino community in Canada.

The Exhibition Opening will take place this Friday, October 5, 2007 from 7-10 p.m. at the Gallery Gachet, 88 East Cordova in Vancouver. Media coverage is cordially requested.

Maleta [suitcase] was launched in August this year in partnership with the Gallery Gachet, a local gallery in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.  Maleta will feature new work of 15 young emerging local Filipino artists along with the work of Artist-in-Residence mural artist Wing-Diocson Yap from Montreal and performance artists Racquel de Loyola and Mideo Cruz from the Philippines.

“As a severely economically marginalized visible minority community in Canada, it is significant to see young Filipino artists come together to produce art and address urgent issues our community is facing such as: political and economic crisis in the Philippines,  forced migration, economic marginalization and racism through creative forms,” says Sean Parlan, graphic designer and Sinag Bayan (Light of the Nation) Cultural Arts Collective Coordinator.

‘The enthusiasm and energy of Filipino youth participating in this project contrasts the stereotypes we often face as ‘trouble-makers’ or ‘drop-outs’,” says Carlo Sayo, of Sinag Bayan and Chairperson of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Canada. Filipino youth have one of the highest drop-out rates from Vancouver high schools.
A recent profile of the Filipino community by Statistics Canada confirmed that the Filipino community is the third largest visible minority group in Canada.  The study also confirmed that Filipinos earn less than the national average, despite being much more likely to have a university degree than the rest of the population. Nearly 100,000 Filipino women have entered Canada as live-in caregivers through Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program since the early 1980s. Critics say the program gives the conditions for all forms of abuse and has long-term negative impacts on the Filipino community. “The image of the maleta (suitcase) is a powerful symbol of the Filipino people’s too-common experience of poverty and forced migration,” says Parlan. There are over eight million Filipinos working abroad in over 190 countries around the world.

Parlan expresses confidence that the project will generate awareness amongst Canadians about why such a global phenomenon is occurring. “We hope Maleta will engage the Canadian public in an active —and sometimes challenging — dialogue about the impacts of forced migration, ” says Parlan. “It’s a shame that these too-common stories are often invisible since they do not fit the mold of Canada’s multicultural policies and programs.  In sharing these vibrant stories of migration we can expose our true experiences and that of other immigrants.”
Sinag Bayan Cultural Arts Collective uses poetry, song, performance and visual arts to educate and raise awareness about the issues that face the Filipino community. Aside from this effort with Gallery Gachet, Sinag Bayan has performed for audiences at the Firehall theatre, Vancouver East Cultural Centre and the Vancouver Folkfest, and recently at the Drive Days on Commercial drive.

Maleta [Suitecase]
Art Exhibition Opening
Friday, October 5, 2007
7-10 p.m.
Gallery Gachet
88 Cordova
Vancouver, BC

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact: Sean Parlan at: 604-215-1103 or e-mail: sinagbayan@kalayaancentre.net

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