OPINION
Tinig Migrante
By E. Maestro
December 18th (Tues) | Community
Gathering & Art Exhibition,
7pm-10pm
December 19th (Wed) | Art
Exhibition, 9am-4pm
Roundhouse Community Arts &
Recreation Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver,
BC FREE. Wheel-chair accessible.
You are invited to MigARTion!
December
18
has
been
proclaimed as the International
Migrants Day in the City of Vancouver
this year. On this same day, Co.
ERASGA and MIGRANTE BC will
present MigARTion, their collaborative
project participated in by migrant
workers and immigrants from the
Filipino and Latino communities
using the art forms of the painting,
dance, theatre, and music.
All migrants have their stories of
migration to Canada. Many carry the
physical and emotional scars of their
journeys. Some share their stories.
Some keep them in the deepest
recesses of their hearts and minds.
Professional artists in voice Jeremiah
Carag, in theatre Dennis Gupa, in
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 1 - 15, 2018
MigARTion: Celebrating International
Migrants Day in Vancouver
dance Alvin Erasga Tolentino, and
in the visual arts Bert Monterona
worked together with migrant workers
to bring out the different personal
stories in the workshops that started in
October. MigArtion is the culmination
of these workshops that saw migrant
workers, who have little experience
training in music, dance, theatre and
visual arts -- or none at all -- create
pieces that are remarkable and
touching.
According to Alvin Tolentino
of Co. Erasga, “This process gives
critical agency among the participants,
allowing their distinct voices to emerge
within a space and atmosphere of
free will, joyous participation and
critical public engagement. In this
initiative, the artists and the migrant
participants work together in exploring
artistic practices and integrate critical
and empathic discussions on settler
colonialism, history of migration, arts
and the migrant and indigenous ways
of knowing and being.”
MigARTion will have two days of
public events. On December 18th, the
opening night will include the unveiling
of the art exhibition featuring works
created by the participants, various
presentations, performance sharing,
community dialogue, a reception,
and a proclamation by the Mayor of
Vancouver declaring December 18,
2018 as “International Migrants Day”
in Vancouver. On December 19th, the
art exhibition will remain open to the
public from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Choreographer and dancer
Alvin Erasga Tolentino founded
Co.Erasga in 2000 and has earned a
distinguished international reputation
with its vision of hybrid dance,
diversity and collaborations with other
artistic practices and multimedia.
Co.ERASGA exposes and explores
issues of cultural identity, gender,
hybridity, and promotes cross-cultural
dialogue. Co. Erasga celebrates its
18th year anniversary in 2018 and
its decades of work has created
critically acclaimed contemporary
dance productions: SOLA, BATO/
Stone, MINORI, Volt, She Said,
Field, OrienTik/ Portrait, BODYGlass,
PARADISE/Paradis, ADAMEVE/Man-
Woman, Shadow Machine, EXpose,
Unwrapping Culture, and most
recently Collected, Traces and Still
Here.
Migrante BC is a community-
based organization committed to
protect and promote the rights and
welfare of Filipino immigrants and
migrant workers in British Columbia,
Canada. Migrante BC
celebrates
its 10th year anniversary in 2018.
Migrante BC is a member of Bayan
Canada and the International Migrants
Alliance. The Migrant Workers’ Dignity
Association/La Asociacion Dignidad
Migrante is a grassroots organization
of migrant workers and volunteers
practicing mutual aid to learn and
transform the world.
This project is generously
supported by the Canada Council for
the Arts, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming
Commission, City of Vancouver,
Vancouver Foundation, Co.ERASGA,
Migrante
BC,
Roundhouse
Community Arts and Recreation
Centre, and the Kensington Branch of
the Vancouver Public Library. For info,
call 604-687-6185 or email info@
companyerasgadance.ca
Follow MigArtion on Facebook:
http://bit.ly/migartionevent
,
Instagram @co.erasga | Twitter @
coERASGA and the website:www.
companyerasgadance.ca
Alvin Tolentino (centre, back) in one of the arts workshops with
Filipino migrant workers. Seated at the centre (in blue) is visual Work, fun and laughter in all the workshops: Cheska, Alvin Tolentino and Siony enjoy the
artist Bert Monterona.
moment
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