December 16, 2024 — Edited by prolific writer, poet and educator Lakshmi Gill, this is the premiere issue of Anthology of Filipino Artists in Canada showing how they straddle the culture of their homeland past and the influences of their newland present. The cover designed by Gill shows capiz shells from the Philippines and maple leaves representating the two cultures embodied in the artworks.
They are “a diverse group, unique in their perspective on life and practice and their immigrant experiences in Canada.” There is often a blend of their past and present in their works as each artist expounds on his life and the role of art in his life. Each artist story is accompanied by a sample of his artworks.
Lakshmi Gill, along with Dorothy Livesay, founded the League of Canadian poets. Her latest major work is “Cruzamos Una Mirada” a one-act play in Spanish and English, virtual reading, Bogota, Colombia, 2021. Her play. “Tinsan Masks” was published in 2023 with Prairie Journal of Canadian Studies, Wyed England, poetry, Broken Sleep Books, UK, 2025. Born in Manila of Punjabi/Sikh and Spanish/Filipina parents, she now lives in Burnaby, BC.
The ten artists featured in this work are: Danvic Briones, Bert Monterona, Kiana Hipolito, Paulina Constancia, Josephine Galang, Broderick Wong, Lenore RS Lim, Esmie Gayo McLaren, Chito Maravila, and Ed Lantin.
Danvic Biones is a visual artist whose initial works were heavily influenced by surrealism and the subconscious; later by printmaking (calligraphy). He likes the way lines play in his works. “There’s a certain dynamic that show liveliness. That’s why in my work there’s rarely a straight line.”
“My work is very representational but I experiment on the process. The output is more a bonus; you have an idea what it’s going to look like but I like the accidental look. Surprise is a thrill for me in spite of the technique. “
Bert Monterona is an all-around artist, educator, and cultural worker doing designing, illustration, painting, murals, sculpture and installations.
“Whatever theme or issue I’m trying to visualize, I always try to show something about my life, my culture through our tribal designs and indigenous motifs and that’s my contribution to multiculturalism. I believe that you can only embrace diversity if you’re open to sharing your identity.”
Kiana Hipolito is an interdisciplinary artist, illustrator and graphic designer. Her use of texture and color within her work often narrates themes of (ms)communication, cultural identity and shared diasporic experience observed in North American communities. “I use my work as a way of understanding my own experiences or exploring my own identity.”
She thinks art is a conversation with a viewer with the content usually a response to a concept, experience or emotion and the question: why is this important?
Paulina Constancia is an international multidisciplinary naïf artist whose works often incorporate a smiling sun or curious human beings looking out of a canvas to tell a story usually with animal companions.
“I mainly paint on canvas, often incorporating stitching, textiles and found materials. Positivity and connectedness are constant themes in my art and poetry.”
Josephine Galang masterfully captures the intrinsic beauty of nature in her works which radiates true-to- life light and color. Her subjects range from landscapes and flowers to wildlife and figures.
“I’m fascinated by the power of art and how it can dramatically change the way we see our environment , see the world differently from an artist’s point of view. In painting an artist can convey endless, powerful emotions to its viewer through color, forms and lines”
Broderck Wong ‘s use of watercolors in his painting taught him to approach the painting process with some degree of control and letting go of that control.
“Watercolor painting puts me right in the moment once I start painting. I suppose the process of creation is like meditation as it allows me to meet myself and to be present. The more I paint, the more parallels I find between life and watercolors.”
Lenore RS Lim considers her art as personal because it serves as a reflection of her innermost self. Her prints reflect themes of nature and her broad geographic experiences.
“It is the unique composition of my ideas and ideals that sets my art apart from the ordinary. Through abstraction and extraction from nature, my prints possess a remarkable quality.”
Esmie Gayo McLaren is a visual artist whose greatest joy in painting is in convincingly conveying emotions or energy on her paper or canvas. Dramatic or soft contrasts, emotive colors, and varied textures are her tools to bring her subjects to life. Her choice of subjects is eclectic in honor of her surroundings and to express her social concerns.
“My art is mostly representational in a somewhat loose style. Often it begins spontaneously but usually it’s a result of an experience, I had that I want to express. My goal is to express my gratitude for my experience and surroundings, inspire analytical thoughts, give hope, and offer rest from a turbulent world.”
Chito Maravilla is a versatile and thoughtful artist who paints fragments and observations of his new life and home in Canada as well as his experience in the Philippines. He seeks inspiration from real life while blending surrealism and expressionism in his artworks.
“My artworks are representational with a touch of abstract and sometimes surreal expressionism. The aim of my art is to communicate my feelings to the viewer and give viewers a moment to wonder.”
Ed Lantin with his 10 years experience as a painter is most admired for his sophisticated mastery of forms, skillful execution of figurative representations, and artistic renderings of light and color. Primarily working with oil, he also experiments with soft strokes and romantic palettes, juxtaposed with occasional textures and subtle expressions. He is prolific in portraiture having painted many prominent people in Canada and the Philippines.
“I’m a figurative painter so my works are all representational and realistic but with a tendency towards impressionism. They are foundationally realistic but the form or bravura adapts a softness to the form that’s why in my paintings I always aim for that bravura.”
Editor of Canadian Filipino Net
Eleanor R. Laquian has written four best-selling books, and co-authored four others with husband Prod Laquian. She has served in various capacities at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research as manager of administration and programs; editor and chair, publications committee; and primary researcher of the Asian Immigration to Canada project. She has a degree in journalism from Maryknoll College in the Philippines, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines. She did postgraduate studies at the School of Public Communications, Boston University in the U.S.
She has been researching and writing about Filipino immigration to Canada since 1969. For her Master's degree in Public Administration at the university of the Philippines, she conducted in 1972 the first, and up to now, the only nationwide survey of Filipinos in Canada. It was done by mailed questionnaires with self addressed stamped envelopes for replies and followed up by personal in depth interviews of respondents who agreed to be interviewed, Interviews were done on a two-week drive from Ottawa to Vancouver in the summer of '72.
Her Master's thesis was published in 1973 in Ottawa by the United Council of Filipino Associations in Canada. It was titled A Study of Filipino Immigrants in Canada, 1962 - 1972. As the primary researcher of UBC Institute of Asian Research immigration Project, she edited in 1998 a book titled The Silent Debate: Asian Immigration and Racism in Canada published by UBC. In 2005 she co-authored with her husband a book to update her MA thesis and titled it Seeking a Better Life Abroad: A Study of Filipinos in Canada 1957 - 2007. It was published in 2008 by Anvil Publishing in Manila.In 2023 she edited Indomitable Canadian Filipinos, a book on the 70-year history of Filipinos in Canada, published by Friesen Press in Manitoba, Canada.
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