New exhibit at The Confluence showcasing stories of first-generation Filipinos in Canada

Calgary is home to more than 75,000 Filipinos and a new exhibit at The Confluence shares the struggles and sacrifices of four of those new Canadians.

Multimedia artists Jasmine Atay and Sam Mendoza have created an exhibit called Halo Halo, which looks at the various ways migration impacts first-generation Filipinos in Canada.

The exhibit, named after the Tagalog word for “mixed,” uses creative storytelling and animation along with both digital and traditional visual arts to share the stories of four individuals who talk about their life in their adopted country and the impact it’s had on their identity.

“One of them is actually my mom, who came here in 1982,” said Atay.

“The second individual was Euniz Brown, an IT businesswoman who owns her own company and then the other two individuals were brought on to the project by my fellow collaborator Sam Mendoza and those individuals are Harvey Nichol, who is an emerging artist, Moses Aquino, and he goes by the moniker Moey Blanco.”

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Atay says her mom, Salvacion, who goes by Syliva, never shared stories of what it was like when she arrived in Calgary four decades ago.

“I think the big common thing with a lot of second (generation immigrants) when they’re faced with their parents, they never have a chance to hear their stories,” said Atay.

“I think first gens always try to shield their kids and just provide them the best opportunity, and in the case of my mom, I think she was very much thinking about the future and not necessarily reflecting on the past.”

The temporary exhibit has a video screen, four portraits of the featured individuals and a number of suitcases and clothing items.

“The suitcases were symbolic of just people’s journey coming here,” said Atay.

“I know one of the suitcases, the red one, was my mom’s when she came, and I think suitcases are just a really good way to kind of represent that journey.”

The artists also included two balikbayan boxes that most Filipinos send home to their families every Christmas filled with all kinds of items for gifts.

“It was really funny, we were collaborating on what to incorporate into it and the staple items that always seem to be in the boxes are toothpaste, instant coffee, candies and soap,” said Atay.

“And for whatever reason, I think those things tend to be a little bit more pricey in the Philippines, so those are the items that Filipinos send back home.”

The exhibit runs until the end of July. Lindsie Bruns, director of creative experience at The Confluence, says it’s been a goal in the past few years to broaden the stories told there.

“We feel like there’s so many different communities in Calgary that we wanted to tell the stories of,” she said.

“So we created this temporary exhibit space so that we can share those stories and we can do it quite quickly, rather than trying to change the entire permanent exhibit.”

Bruns says Halo Halo is the first temporary exhibit in the space and there will be a new one every six months.

“I think people are really happy to see something so different from what has been in this museum for the last 50 years,” she said.

“It’s really adding value to the experience here at the cultural centre while we’re under construction and right now admission is by donation, so you can pay as much or as little as you want, which is great.”

Construction is expected to be complete sometime this spring. Atay says she and Mendoza are grateful for the opportunity to have their work exhibited at the Confluence.

“For the first generations, my hope is that they’ll realize that they’re not alone in this and they can build a community,” she said.

“The immigration story is always evolving, and it’s been really great to work with The Confluence’s team and see how they’ve evolved with the times and enabled these kinds of exhibits to showcase, and I think it’s a beautiful parallel between what’s happening now and the past.”

Learn more about the exhibit on The Confluence’s website.