Bayaning Inday: Ilongga Artists Mothering Behind Bars
Bayaning Inday is the offshoot of Freedom in Prison Project which started in 2014 as a community outreach of the Fine Arts Major Organization with Lead Teaching Artist/Adviser, Ma Rosalie Zerrudo. As part of the travelling art exhibition, Hilway art exhibitions showcased the artworks produced with the women Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) in Iloilo City District Jail, Female Dormitory. It is a creation which unveils the stories of pain, survival, resistance and resilience of women mothering behind bars through powerful hand-made art pieces that speak from and to the heart. Bayaning Inday dolls is a collaborative juxtaposition of rug tapestry mosaic and soft sculptural piece mounted in a “womb” altar of Inday. Inday dolls are soft sculptures encapsulated stories of objects mounted as multi-layered fabric tapestry installation resembling dwelling spaces or a multi-dimensional womb.
Hilway, coined from the Filipino term meaning “Freedom,” is a collaborative project between the University of San Agustin, Iloilo and the women inmates of Iloilo City District Jail – Female Dormitory. The project is popular for its most iconic product the “Inday Dolls” – handmade one of a kind dolls, which tell the stories and “hugot” (angst), feelings, experiences and stories of the women inmates of Iloilo City District Jail.
Bayaning Inday is one of the many Hilway art exhibitions presented by the Fine Arts Major Organization (FAMO). It is a creation which unveils the stories of pain, survival, resistance and resilience of women mothering behind bars through powerful hand-made art pieces that speak from and to the heart. Bayaning Inday dolls is a collaborative juxtaposition of rug tapestry mosaic and soft sculptural piece mounted in a “womb” altar of Inday. Inday dolls are soft sculptures encapsulated stories of objects mounted as multi-layered fabric tapestry installation resembling dwelling spaces or a multi-dimensional womb.
Women tell their stories through their art works. Women speaks through their beadwork. The embroidered tapestry and accessory serves as voices of women. Bayaning Inday Dolls are stories of objects, visual narratives of women artists and mothers in prison expressed in tapestry, collage, embroidery and bead work. Inday means Miss or Mademoiselle as a personal endearment or relational name called before a name used by the Ilonggos in Panay region. Inday is significant in the geography as origin and identity of the product. The women naming and claiming their identity has a strong significance in the human stories of objects. The process made women express symbolic representation of their life stories. The art process makes a difference in the lives of women in prison creating new colors in their darkest times. Inday Dolls are not just mere objects but iconic portraits of the women, prison psychology, collective memory which revolves around their family and relationships.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
Inday Dolls Project has been presented as a research project in local and international audiences. The most recent exhibition Bayaning Inday: Mothering Behind Bars was in time for the celebration of Women’s Month at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Gallery. Inday Dolls was the brainchild of Zerrudo’s research paper, “Freedom in Prison, Prison in Freedom” got the best paper award in the 4th National Conference on Social Justice in the University of Cebu, Philippines in 2017. On the same year, the paper was presented at the International Conference on Education and Global Studies in Kyoto, Japan. Another opportunity came when Zerrudo shared this project at the New York University’s Steindhart Forum on Educational Theatre Conference’s “Performance as Activism” in 2018. In times for the Mother’s Day Celebration she delivered a talk for Art Talk hosted by Kularts at Bindlestiff Studio, San Francisco, CA USA. The Inday dolls exhibition coupled with performance and workshops has reached and engaged with the local on international audience. Museo Pambata, a children’s museum in Manila hosted an art for healing workshop by Zerrudo with children of victims of extra judicial killings during the Hilway Stories of Objects exhibit in 2018. On the other hand, Got Heart Gallery hosted the Hilway Art Exhibit; Mothering Behind Bars in 2018. A showcase to Filipino American community Brought a travelling exhibition to the USA in 2018. Ilongga Matters; Mothering Behind Bars was exhibited at Purple Yam, Brooklyn, New York. Kularts Inc sponsored the art exhibit of Filipinas Matters; Travelling Inday Dolls with a back to back performance at Bindlestift Studio, San Francisco, CA in 2018. The US exhibition was sponsored by Philippine Airlines Foundation and University of San Agustin, Iloilo.
DESCRIPTION OF THE VENUE AND DATES
August 12-26, 2019 - Dang Maria, Manalo St, Puerto Princesa, Palawan
August 27 to September 10, 2019 – Ka Lui Restaurant, Rizal St., Puerto Princes City, Palawan
October 1-30, 2019 - Balay Kabilin, F. Rocha co M. Parras Sts.Tagbilaran, Bohol
October 4-6, 2019 - Mindanao Art, Gaisano Mall, and Philippine Women’s College Davao
The travelling exhibit required at least two provincial exhibition host, however the exhibition was extended to more places with many interested parties. However due to the limited resources, travelling exhibition was brought to Palawan, Bohol and Davao.
The first venue is a named after a woman, Dang Maria, owned and managed by artist extraordinaire writer, musician and mother, Jane Timbangcaya-Urbanek. Dang Maria is a home inside the forest developed into a bed and breakfast art space which also became a venue of many community events in Puerto Princesa. The conference area was transformed into an exhibition place with beautiful nature and outdoor spaces for workshops. Palawan being remote with the absence of an art museum was a special intimate venue bringing a close knit family together. The exhibition was visited by students on a field trip, guest, local artists and walk-in tourists.
As part of the community engagements, two workshops were conducted for High School Students from Holy Trinity University and Life College in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The Second venue was an extension of the first exhibition upon invitation of the creative director/ owner and prime mover of Ecotourism Ka Lui Oliva at the famous destination Ka Lui Restaurant. The place is fully booked daily with tourists from all over the world and local travelers.
The Third venue was in Tagbilaran City, Bohol hosted by Holy Name University. Balay Kabilin, a heritage ancestral wooden house served as a homey and warm intimate exhibition place. The main gallery with wooden floor and wooden walls with wide open window became an interactive space with film showing and art talks.
The Fourth venue was a gallery space in Gaisano Mall Davao featuring the new art pieces as part of the First Mindanao Art Fair lead by Kublai Millan. It was a huge exhibition space with hundreds of other artworks being presented. The Bayaning Inday Doll was also presented in an art talk at the Philippine Women’s University as part of the Mindanao Art Fair Conference.
GROUNDWORK
The exhibition process was very challenging with the islands divide especially concerning the travel and transport of the artworks. The organizing process was done through local contacts and cultural workers and educational institutions who became very supportive as exhibition hosts.
As curator/grantee for the exhibition, the primary tasks assigned were the curatorial management and cohesive creative approach for the whole exhibition.
EXHIBITION, OPENING AND WORKSHOPS
Palawan Exhibit and Workshops
The opening in Dang Maria, Puerto Princesa, Palawan was attended by the gracious owner, local friends, head of offices and artists. A symbolic ritual with candle offering and poetry reading with inspirational talk capped the evening with intimate talks, photo shoots and eating. The venue was beautifully set-up with very good food sponsored by the host. A film showing about the exhibition prepared the audience to the stories of Bayaning Inday.
As part of the preparation, the curator changed hat to workshop facilitator prior to the opening of the exhibition. A workshop on creative enterprise development and ideation workshop was conducted to 140 participant Senior High School Students of Holly Trinity University ages 17-18 with four teachers. The students visited the exhibition after the workshop.
The workshop was a dynamic set of activities with very responsive and cooperative students. The results of the workshop will be part of the Annex attachment.
Ka Lui Restaurant as the second venue was set-up in the middle gallery space in between the local folk art and artworks with an airy open air garden of sculpted dry leaves and colorful succulence of the bamboo walls. The exhibition blended with the folk ambience which opened as a usual store opening without the formal program. The two week long exhibition gave exposure to a global audience next to a local women shop products of a community social enterprise.
Balay Kabilin, Bohol Exhibit and Workshops
The Bohol exhibit was made possible with the support of a Boholano historian and Director of the Balay Kabilin, Prof. Marianito Luspo. The set-up in Balay Kabilin, Tagbilaran, Bohol was made possible with four local volunteers and two students from Fine Arts Major organization from the University of San Agustin. The set-up and opening was a powerful collaboration and spontaneous performances of artists. The Holy Name University Diwanag Dancers composed of ten movers performed a piece specially inspired about women. The opening Exhibit was even made more special with the presence of Fr. Francisco Estepa, SVD, President of Holy Name University. The audience were coming from various insitutions namely the Tagbilaran City Jail, Provincial Government of Bohol, Kasing Sining, Baji Arts, DSWD, POP, Siliman Universitiy and mostly from Holy Name University. There were around 100 people in the audience who joined the community ritual and art making.
The Bohol hosts has done an exemplary groundworking by making a lot of students and members of the community take part in the workshops. On October 2, 2019, there were around 350 participants and High School students and facultyl from five schools namely Holy Name University, TCSHS, SINHS and Bohol Deaf Academy ages from 13-18. The whole month exhibition was able to touch base with around a thousand audience and students from several schools namely Bohol Institute of Technology, DCPNHS, HSST, TCC, Bohol Museum staff, Bohol Chronicle ang many other walks ins, tourists and visitors.
Davao Opening of Exhibit and Mindanao Art Fair and Conference
The First Mindanao Art Fair was a very momentous event with renowned and famous artists, scholars and cultural workers. The Inday Dolls exhibit was among the works of Kublai Millan, Director of Mindanao Art Fair. There were more than thousand people in one day from participants, students and mall goers who were able to see the exhibition on October 4, 2019. The following days were the Conference proper where the lead artist curator, Rosalie Zerrudo shared her project as community artists as one of the resource person on the topic “How artists curate their practice and come up with a personal style” on October 5, 2019 at the Philippine Women’s College Davao.
BENEFICIARIES: AUDIENCE/COMMUNITY/PARTICIPANTS
Artists
Bayaning Inday if the off shoot of the Hilway Art Project Restorative Social Enterprise which provides creative employment for women in prison in the Iloilo City district jail (ICDJ) located at General Luna Street, just across the street from the University of San Agustin. Female prison inmates are technically referred to as Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL).
As of April 2019, there are 237 women incarcerated in the district jail, measuring 120 square meters, that originally could hold 30 PDLs (Please see Appendix 1 for ICDJ demographics). Of the 232 female PDLs, 169 are mothers with women aged 19-65 years old, and 132 of them are actively engaged in what we refer to as “mothering behind bars.” This means that they have direct economic benefits to help support their children in school. With the congestion rate of 700% inside the cell, the women actively engaged in Restorative Social Enterprise Project use the multi-purpose area as their workshop. This area also serves to receive visitors as well as a place where the female inmates sleep, eat, rest, worship, and work.
Art Exhibit and Workshop Participants
Palawan
The opening in Palawan was attended by around 30 people from local tourism sectors, government offices, private sectors, schools and artists. The first workshop was attended by around 150 students and teachers from Holy Name University on August 23, 2019. Another workshop was conducted on August 24 with around 27 students ages from 13-18 and faculty from Life College, Puerto Princes City, Palawan.
Bohol
The Bohol participants to the workshops were around 700 teenagers mostly High School students ages 13-18 and faculty from around 10 schools and universities.
Davao
The participants to the Mindanao Arts Fair and Conference were invited artists, delegates from all over Mindanao, students from schools universities, teachers and general public of about 300 to a thousand in different venues.
Ma. Rosalie Abeto Zerrudo
Exhibition Curator and Lead Artist
Fine Arts Major Organization:
Merry Chrislen Estember
Bhryx Collacion
Local Hosts:
Palawan
Jane Timbangcaya Urbanek – Dang Maria
Don Bognoson
Lui Oliva – Ka Lui Restaurant
Maida Mahilum Gabarda – Holy Trinity University
Bohol
Marianito Luspo - Balay Kabilin
Davao
Kublai Millan – Mindanao Arts Fair and Conference
Bohol Art Exhibit Volunteers:
Edil Marie Alfarero – OCAD
Maia Binhi Borja – CBS
Graces Pagara – HNU
Rosalinda Anunciado – DIWANAG
Diwanag Dancers:
Diana Naplla
Ria Bethany Camilo
Marjorie Galagar
Jefferson Monfort
Francis Degamo
Ma. Ella May Guerra
Quennie Yana
Claire Dano
Ebon Rhey Torregosa
Joseph Ace Cenabre