 Jennifer's mother, Julita in CALL HER GANDA | On November 4, 2018, Kwentong Bayan Collective will present a free community screening of CALL HER GANDA, as part of CCESO's Human Rights & Leadership Program for Migrant Caregivers. CALL HER GANDA is an award-winning documentary film directed by PJ Narval. It examines the 2014 murder of Jennifer Laude, a Filipino trans woman who was killed by a American marine. The screening will be followed by a discussion on the struggle for LGBTIQ rights in the Philippines. We are grateful to the CALL HER GANDA Impact Team for their generous support. November 4th would have marked Jennifer Laude's 30th birthday. We celebrate the life and truth she lived, and the call for justice that continues in her name. #JusticeForJenniferLaude #callherganda #justice4jennifer #translivesmatter #CALLTOGANDA |
 As of Oct 1st, 2018 our weekly Comics / Komiks Meet-Up will come to a close as Kwentong Bayan Collective moves on to our next projects.
We are grateful for all the community support and love we received over the past year. It was an honour to meet weekly with creative folks, to make komiks/comics together, and to collaborate with the Toronto Public Library, Lillian H. Smith Branch to host artist talks and the first Filipino Komiks Zine Fair in Toronto. Our special thanks to Library Assistant Extraordinaire, Jennifer McBurnie who was with us through it all with generosity and kindness. We will never forget the experience. Salamat/Many Thanks, Althea & Jo  Thanks to Ysh Cabana for writing about the Komiks Zine Fair in The Philippine Canadian News. Read article
"Toronto-based artists Jo SiMalaya Alcampo and Althea Balmes have been hosting pulp fiction weekly meet-ups since July 2017. Participants have been encouraged to network, to create and bring their comics/komiks to completion..Zines, tiny photocopied and stapled books that are often with political text and images, deck the Lillian H. Smith Library branch. Kwentong Bayan Collective believes that a new model for komiks and pop culture events will take shape over time."  We're celebrating the 1 year anniversary of our weekly Comics / Komiks Meet-Up at the library with a Kwentong Bayan - Komiks Zine Fair!!
All-ages activities include short films about comics, button-making station, merch tables, a Filipino Komiks reading corner, & raffle prizes. Saturday July 21, 2018 1 PM - 4:30 PM Lillian H. Smith Branch - Toronto Public Library 239 College St. (at Spadina), Meeting Room A, Lower Level FREE EVENT Thanks to our community partners, the Toronto Public Library -Lillian H. Smith Branch, The Beguiling Books & Art, and Comics/Komiks Meet-up artists. Please join us!  Kwentong Bayan Collective completed a four-month residency at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in Hamilton. Many thanks to everyone who supported the BALIKBAYAN exhibition and monthly Caregiver Gathering Series from January 24 - April 21, 2018. Special thanks to all the caregivers, facilitators, sponsors, funders, and WAHC team!
 Please join Kwentong Bayan Collective for our first solo exhibition: BALIKBAYAN at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre from January 24th to April 21st, 2018.
The exhibition BALIKBAYAN features a visual timeline of the 150+ year history of caregiving in Canada by racialized women, and Balikbayan box sculptures that contain migration and labour stories. In the Filipino language, “balik” means “to return” and “bayan” can mean “country, place, home, or town”.
 In Love and Struggle (2017)
Kwentong Bayan Collective Blackwood Gallery October 16 - November 4, 2017 Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid |
