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‘Crossing Rivers’ Centers on the Dumagat Tribe’s Struggles
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Crossing Rivers centers its artistic narrative on the trials and tribulations of the Dumagat tribe in Aurora. Showing at UP Fine Arts Parola Gallery until October 18, the exhibit features different works from artist-residents from the Aurora Artist Residency Program and Space (AARPS). Other collaborators for the exhibit include Creative Australia and Konseho ng Kulturang Dumagat.
AARPS as an organization exists in Aurora to serve as a way of empowering indigenous culture and communities through art. Their residencies allow artists to work directly with the Dumagat tribes on different projects that highlight the cultural heritage and current struggles of this local indigenous community.
“It brings together cross-border perspectives and fosters partnerships that address shared challenges,” the exhibit write-up said. “[The project inspires] cooperative solutions through creative means.
This showcase of AARPS’s artist-residency program involves the works of Cece Carpio, Cian Dayrit, Carel Mapanoo, Sam Baguhin, and Karilyo.
Struggles to Showcase the Works
The name “Crossing Rivers” comes from the experiences of the Dumagat and their struggles to engage with the broader world. AARPS artistic director Roselle Pineda discussed the challenges of bringing over the art to Manila due to increasing militarization in the provinces.
“Unang beses namin literal na itinawid sa ilog ang Dumagat Day Festival itong taon na ito,” she said. “Napakadaming pinagdaanan upang magawan namin ng pagtawid sa ilog na iyon sapagkat sa kasagsagan ng aming paghahanda sa festival ay namilitarize ang aming venue. Kaya sa abot ng aming makakaya, sa pawis at luha at pagsasama-sama namin ay naitawid namin sa ilog ang festival.”
(This is the first year where we literally crossed rivers for the Dumagat Day Festival. We went through so much to show this art due to the sudden militarization of the venue we had. To the extent that we were able to, with our sweat and tears and help from our community, we were able to cross this art over to the festival.)
Cross-Cultural Collaboration
Beyond that, Crossing Rivers exists as a proof of concept more than anything. It shows how indigenous culture can co-exist with today’s modernity without being relegated as something archaic or a curiosity. Instead, they’re as much of a part of the cultural fabric and modern art scene as anything else today.
“The exhibit serves as a meeting point,” the write-up said. “[It’s] a new iteration in this continuing invitation for cultural collaborations and community engagement for the advancement of indigenous struggles.”
An interesting anecdote that Pineda shared during the opening is how the original concept of the exhibit involved an indigenous river community from Riverina in New South Wales. She called it the first time two indigenous tribes or First Nations collaborated in an art project.
However, the end exhibit only contains the works of AARPS and its past artist-residents. This is mainly due to the militarization of the Umiray in Aurora, and the danger this poses to both tribes. She hopes, however, that this openness of collaboration pervades in future projects.
Living, Breathing Culture
Crossing Rivers showcases the variety of artworks crafted during the artist-residency there. From posters of past radio broadcasts about the community to a massive embroidered work containing found objects, it shows off the broad spectrum of ideas being used by artists to discuss the plight of the Dumagat in the country.
Footage and photographs of past Dumagat Day Festivals also abound in the exhibit. As much as it celebrates the Dumagat culture, the exhibition lingers on the struggles of the community and their desire for autonomy and respect.
The exhibit opening had multiple members of the Dumagat tribe visiting to share a few words for their cause. Many of them reiterated their struggles to keep their culture alive, and the military and government interventions that prevent them from doing so. It situated this struggle as a fundamental fight. The works fight for the Dumagat’s growth as a culture, to be allowed to exist even as the country modernizes.
Art Made for the Community
During the opening of the exhibition, Pineda emphasized the helpfulness and necessity of the program for the Dumagat tribe in Aurora. She highlighted a specific case of Cian Dayrit’s counter-mapping project being helpful in indigenous land claims for the group.
“Pero ang pinaka-mahalaga sa ginawa ni Cian para sa aming collaboration sa Dumagetan ay yung counter-mapping o yung mga mapa na nabunsod ng aming workshop ay literal na nagamit ng aming mga Dumagat para sa laban sa pag-claim ng lupang ninuno. Dito natin makikita yung literal na ambag ng sining sa aming mga komunidad,” she said.
[But we see the importance of Cian’s work for the Dumagetan people through the counter-mapping made through our workshop being used in the fight for their ancestral land. Here we see how art helps the local community.]
Crossing Rivers as an exhibit gives viewers an opportunity to redefine their ideas of modern art. It allows us to see indigenous cultures up close, and makes a case towards its need to thrive and its necessity in the cultural fabric of the Philippines as a whole.
Photos by Elle Yap.
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