This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 8, March 26-April 1, 2006
CULTURE
Towards the Center:
Rebirthing Women Artists
Not a meaningless touch, the "pat on the back" women
artists gave each other at the conclusion of the recently held First Northern
Luzon Women Visual Artists' Conference-Workshop leaves an indelible (re)birthmark,
to remind them of their rebirthing experience.
BY MERCY DULAWAN
Not a
meaningless touch, the "pat on the back" women artists gave each other at the
conclusion of the recently held First Northern Luzon Women Visual Artists'
Conference-Workshop leaves an indelible (re)birthmark, to remind them of their
rebirthing experience.
Made
possible by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and The
Global Fund for Women, the conference was organized by the Grupong Damili
(literally, group forming clay into pottery), with the University of the
Philippines (UP) Baguio Kasarian Gender Studies Program and the Maryknoll
Ecological Sanctuary on March 10 to 12.
The
gathering became an extraordinarily potent venue for the meeting of minds, souls
and hearts among women artists. Mentors like Brenda Fajardo, Alma Quinto, Karen
Flores, Luchi Ticzon and Liza Ann Acevedo-llagan shared their expertise and
retold their own art and life stories. The interchange held magical power over
each participant. In the end, it was the mentor who thanked everyone for the
experience she labeled a "gift," a special present in her "new" life.
Unlike
the metaphorical "Karayom" (Needle) in Alma Quinto's presentations, the sharing
substantiated by other personages in Baguio City like Prof. Reynaldo Rovillos of
UP Baguio Kasarian, Atty. Lulu Tabanda of the Balikatan sa Kaunlaran (Shoulder
to Shoulder for Progress) Baguio, Baguio City Vice Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Sr.
Margarita Jamias of the Maryknoll Baguio Community and Madam Divina Bautista of
the International Delphic Council, connected each strand to create a tapestry
reflective of the participants' present perspectives and future visions,
clearer, yet ever transforming; and prophetic in its perceptions for growth as a
distinct group as well as part of the larger art scene.
Evoked
from the three-day gathering was the artists' reclaiming of their babaylan
(the native high priestess of Philippine folk religions) status as life-shapers,
memory-keepers, nature-preservers and healers. Most importantly, the artists
expressed the power of their art as acts of love, caring for one another, and as
powerful tools for consciousness awakening.
As
Rovillos put it, "The women artists are now reclaiming and proclaiming their
rightful space in the male-dominated world of mainstream art and in society as a
whole. I find the exhibit’s theme, ‘Rebirthing the Woman,’ a very appropriate
theme. I take this to mean that women artists want to (re)define ‘woman’ beyond
the constricting stereotypes by society. This also shows that women artists are
shifting the discourse, from the periphery towards the center."
Toward
the center, the group led their other friends from other art disciplines. The
Tanghalang Bayan ng Kabataan (Tabak or Youth People’s Theater)-Baguio and the UP
Tayaw dance troupe, Jennifer Patricia Cariño as composer/singer/poet, friends
from the Pi Sigma and Pi Sigma Delta with Prof. Toto Colongon, Joanne Sotto and
Portia Aquino, the SALiVV theater group led by Raffy Kapuno, whose musical beats
and rhythms struck deep and soulful heartstrings.
Our
gustatory buds were stimulated by a taste of traditional "chocolate eh," made by
a process valued and practiced during the Rizal era. Famed Baguio City
restauranteur Jojo Castro demonstrated the "Batirol"
method of chocolate making.
The art
exhibit dubbed as "Rebirthing the Woman II" at Maryknoll Sanctuary Gallery will
be there until April 11. The artworks made by the participants during the
conference remain to be expressed little by little in many different ways.
Kudos to
all who joined the conference. Bless yourself. Place your right palm on your
nape and say, "Believe in yourself," your palm over your head and say,
"Celebrate your gift," and on your forehead, with the words, "Dwell in
your creativity." Northern Dispatch / Posted by
Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat