Arts

January 16, 2025 — When Esmie’s  father  started showing signs  of  diminished sensual perceptions  and arthritic hands while struggling with the challenges of dementia but still trying to  engage with his family, environment,  and  sculpting hobbies,  she saw not an old man but a healthy human being who is aging  but still determined to use his faculties to accomplish  his goals.  Her father passed away in February 2024 at age 94, just 3 months short of 95.

January 1, 2025 — In 1989, Edgardo Lantin, a gifted portrait artist from Vancouver, presented former Philippine President Corazon Aquino with a portrait of herself on behalf of the Canadian Filipino community.

January 1, 2025 - For two evenings on November 30 and December 1, 2024, residents of Victoria, BC, were treated to Paghimugso, (meaning “birth”) a one and a half hour display of Filipino song, dance and talent, coinciding with ceremonies marking the 75^th year of Philippine Canadian diplomatic relations.

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.    

December 1, 2024 — Audiences in Victoria were treated in October 2024 to Im:print, a multidisciplinary show produced by the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) embodying the experiences of participating artists of immigration, displacement, belonging and identity. 

October 16, 2024 - Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio’s debut novel Reuniting with Strangers is one of only five finalists in this year’s Toronto Book Awards.

September 16, 2024 - What are the unintended consequences of Filipino parents leaving their children behind to work as nannies for families in Canada? The documentary Inay by Vancouver-based producer/director Thea Loo explores those many lingering effects on the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), their children and their children’s spouses as they all seek a “better life” in Canada.

September 1, 2024 - In the Philippines where abortion is illegal, a young gymnast finds out she’s pregnant just days prior to a national team tryouts. She gets on a jeepney ironically named Gift of God as she seeks illegal abortion drugs. 

August 16, 2024 — The exhibit HOHOL (Hang Out Hang Out Lang) curated by young artists Christian Vistan and Patrick Cruz features artworks by 10 Filipino artists “from across the diaspora”. The exhibit is at the grunt gallery, an artist-run centre in East Vancouver.

August 1, 2024 — The new cast of Toronto’s production of Disney’s The Lion King will include a Filipino-Canadian actor playing the role of young Simba.