THE EXCHANGE

kilusan. the collective. the exchange.

Five artists embark on an artistic and cultural journey, exploring the implications of their Filipino & Canadian roots on their identity and art.The Kilusan Collective is Alex Felipe, Ilona Fiddy, Jeff Garcia, Jen Maramba and Tiffany Naval Jr., a group of young, aware and talented artists. Each with a varying artistic focus; their common understanding of a particular breed of cultural conflict will provide the substance behind their collaborative work.The Kilusan Exchange, Kilusan – the Tagalog word for movement – is a movement towards cultural understanding. It is a youth initiative, pressing for the movement towards strengthening the presence of the Filipino creative community. The Collective’s work is a platform from which the Philippine art-scene can assert themselves as main-stayers in the broader community of contemporary art.

The exchange involves a trip to their homeland of the Philippines, bringing their Toronto perspectives with them. The collective will meet up with performance artist and dubbed ‘Pied Piper of Manila’, Carlos Celdran. Celdran, famous for his whacky and elaborate historic tours of Manila, will show the collective the place of their roots, fueling their inspirational cultural discovery. All the while, the collective will leave little pieces of Toronto behind, taking the people they encounter on a cultural journey of their own.

The collective will return to Toronto, along with Celdran, to share the sights, sounds and tastes of an understated and overlooked people. Bringing one metropolis into another, and based on Celdran’s famous tour of Manila, this manifestation of artistic cultural expression will take its form in an interactive multimedia blow out. This show will take performance to a whole new level.

Manila, meet Toronto. Toronto, meet Manila.

The contemporary art-scene of Toronto has just gotten a little more diverse.

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About Kapisanan:

ARTS + CULTURE + IMPACT

In the last two years, Kapisanan Philippine Centre transitioned from a traditional Filipino community centre into a member driven, youth-led facility with a focus on arts and culture. Our mandate in our downtown Toronto (Kensington Market) facility, is to provide a space for young Filipino people, newcomer and Filipino-Canadians alike, to explore their identity & roots and share it with their peers, elders, and the broader community, while striving to encourage leadership and social engagement through the lens of arts & culture. We do this by offering artistic, cultural, and arts-based career mentorship programs, educational arts-based activities, and cultural events.