Kwentong Bayan: Labour of Love

March 10, 2019 - Re-Imagining Stories of Care Work

3/3/2019

Bong, Cristina, Maria Cecil and Gladys rehearsing with facilitator, Karen Ancheta. Photo by Eloisa Guerrero.

Please join us for Re-Imagining Stories of Care Work - a collaborative storytelling and audio-visual art performance about the invaluable contributions of migrant caregivers to Canada’s social, economic, and political past, present and future.

Collaborative storytelling by Caregiver Connections, Education & Support Organization (CCESO) and audio-visual art performance by Kwentong Bayan Collective. With support from Karen Ancheta, Storyteller/Facilitator and Leon Aureaus, Artistic Director, Carlos Bulosan Theatre. Presented by the Myseum Intersections Festival.

Take Care - March 3–July 21, 2019

3/2/2019

Image: Kwentong Bayan Collective, In Love and Struggle, 2017, Blackwood Gallery. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

We are honoured to announce our 1st international exhibition, opening March 3rd at la Ferme du Buisson in France. Kwentong Bayan Collective will share work on the current issues, history, and future of Care Work in Canada by Black, Indigenous and Racialized women.

Take Care
March 3–July 21, 2019
la Ferme du Buisson
Allée de la Ferme
77186 Noisiel
France

Call Her Ganda - Nov 4 screening

10/19/2018

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

Komiks/Comics Meet-up wraps

9/17/2018

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

Komiks Zine Fair article

8/1/2018

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."

Komiks Zine Fair

7/1/2018

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!

Jan t0 April 2018 @WAHC

5/1/2018

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!

BALIKBAYAN - Reception & Artist Talk

2/1/2018

BALIKBAYAN
Kwentong Bayan Collective
January 24 - April 21, 2018
Workers Arts & Heritage Centre
51 Stuart Street, Hamilton, Ontario

Opening reception on Fri Feb 9th, 7 – 9 pm

Artist Talk on Sat Feb 10th, 1:30 - 3:30 pm

The exhibition BALIKBAYAN features a visual timeline of the 150+ year history of caregiving in Canada by racialized women, and Balikbayan boxes that contain migration and labour stories.

BALIKBAYAN

1/30/2018

Please join Kwentong Bayan Collective for our first solo exhibition: BALIKBAYAN at the Workers Arts & Heritag e 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”.

First Solo Exhibition

1/12/2018

BALIKBAYAN runs Jan 24 to Apr 21, 2018.

Kwentong Bayan Collective will launch our first solo exhibition at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre. BALIKBAYAN features a visual timeline of 150+ year history of caregiving in Canada by radicalized women, and balikbayan box sculptures that share labour and migration stories.

In a series of gatherings, workers from Hamilton and Toronto will participate in a healing soup circle, create storytelling wearables, and plant native seeds. At each gathering, folks can create their own pasalubong (gifts) to take home and share with others.

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