Philippine Women Centre of BC
Press Release

Filipino community to mount multi-media exhibit, host public dialogue and reception at the Museum of Vancouver

For Immediate Release - February 15, 2010

 
On Saturday, March 27, 2010, the Philippine Women Centre of BC (PWC-BC) will open a historic and unique multi-media exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver. Entitled, “Shattering our (in)visibility,” the exhibit explores the perceived silence and social exclusion of Filipinos in Canada — one of Vancouver’s largest visible minority communities.

Works included in the exhibition will explore various themes of migration, labour, family separation and reunification, childcare, empowerment and community-building.

Shattering our (in)visibility: An exhibit of multi-media work and a public dialogue by and about the Filipino-Canadian community in Vancouver

Presented by the Philippine Women Centre of BC in collaboration with the Museum of Vancouver

Saturday, March 27, 2010
Public dialogue at 4:30 pm.
Exhibit opening at 6:00 p.m.
Museum of Vancouver
1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver

According to the 2006 Census, there were over 28,000 Filipinos living in the City of Vancouver, making the community the third largest visible minority community in the city. Over 90% of those entering Canada under
the federal immigration program, the Live-in Caregiver Program, are from the Philippines, are women and many work in Vancouver. Studies have also shown that Filipino women only make 52% of the median income of all women in Vancouver.

The March 27 event features an afternoon panel and public dialogue that will explore the larger context of the Filipino-Canadian community’s presence in Vancouver. Founding Chair of the PWC-BC, Cecilia Diocson, who has spoken across Canada and around the world about the critical issues facing Filipino women in Canada, will speak. The panel is free and open to the public, so that a deeper conversation and dialogue on the community’s issues can take place.

Following the panel, the exhibit opening will take place featuring a guided tour for VIP ticket holders and a reception for all ticket holders. Artists and community organizers will be present to discuss their artistic and community work and supportive performers will showcase special performances during the reception and exhibit opening.

The exhibit itself (which will be shown until May 27, 2010) features contemporary works made by artists and members of the Filipino-Canadian community in Vancouver. Organizers hope that the exhibition will challenge and provoke people in Vancouver to discover the rich history of social engagement and legacy of empowerment within the Filipino community in Vancouver.

Christina Panis, Vice Chair of the PWC-BC declared, “The collaboration with the Museum of Vancouver is a way to showcase our community’s empowerment and policy engagement through cultural means for a wider audience. We are not just a cultural community, nor are we a silent one. We are pushing the boundaries of what culture means and how culture can be used as a means to express our visibility — which to us means our collective struggle for full participation and genuine settlement and integration into Canada.”

Through this two-month long exhibit, a narrative of the story of Filipino-Canadians in Vancouver will be built including the uncovering of the historical roots of the community’s presence in Canada, to move towards an exploration of the current challenges facing the community in various spheres of Vancouver life, and finally to affirm the spirit of empowerment and resistance within the community.

The event is part of the PWC-BC’s 20th anniversary celebration and funds raised will go to support the group’s Building Fund to restore its building (known as the Kalayaan Centre or Freedom Centre) in the Downtown Eastside.

For tickets or more information, please contact Leah, Glecy or Dinah at (604) 215-1103.

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