Gathered Time
- USAP Collective
- Aug 24
- 2 min read
ARTIST'S STATEMENT:
For many Filipinos, both at home and throughout the diaspora, fiesta is an iconic symbol of culture, connection, and belonging. The Filipino fiesta developed from the Spanish tradition of celebrating Catholic saints and echoes the country’s colonial past. Through hospitality, storytelling, music, performance, and artmaking, the participating artists will work to deconstruct and decolonise the fiesta to consider why this persistent tradition remains culturally significant in the contemporary context.
"Gathered Time" takes a non-linear and expansive approach to time, histories, and “progress”, exploring pre-colonial approaches to celebration (rooted in animist belief systems), colonial Catholic influences, and the ever-present need for connection. The participating artists will deconstruct the fiesta through explorations of intergenerational expectations, labour and its gendered distribution, the economic burden of hospitality, and the role of celebration in creating inclusive and connected communities.
The residency will culminate in MAGDIWANG (to celebrate), a vibrant closing event showcasing the works created throughout the residency period. Collectively, these artistic expressions will enrich, complicate, untangle and deepen understandings of the Philippine fiesta, simultaneously cultivating space for the community to gather and connect through shared experiences of music, dance, food, performance and art.
Funded by ARTPOD, "Gathered Time" is a multidisciplinary, participatory artist residency presented by Filipino artist collective Ugnayang Sining at Pamana (USAP) at the City of Adelaide ART POD. Under the mentorship of acclaimed Filipino-Australian artist Mark Valenzuela, this project will explore how communities come together through social rituals, shared traditions, and collective acts that shape cultural identity. All community workshops will be integrated into weekly "Bunting Making and Merienda" sessions, with the collective output forming the exhibition at ART POD, culminating in the "Magdiwang" closing event as part of the OzAsia Festival 2025.
PARTICIPATING USAP COLLECTIVE ARTIST:
ALTHIER ALIANZA
ANA KOCH
CLAIRE PASION
JENNIFER GALE DY
LOURDES DUENAS BLINCO
JOSE RAFAEL MAURICIO
MICHELLE KENNEY
PROJECT MENTORS
MARK VALENZUELA, ANNA LOUGHLIN - ALIWARUS EXCHANGE
ART POD COORDINATOR
Teagan Hale- Project Lead
Christina Peek-Arts Coordinator
OZASIA
Joon Kwok- OzAsia Executive Director
Charissa Davis- OzAsia Visual Arts Curator
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