ASIA PHOTO REVIEW x MATA ART GALLERY are proud to present KAPWA: COMMUNAL SPIRIT, a visual art exhibition in partnership with Avenue 50 Studio. Please join us for this community building event and opening reception to kick off AAPI Heritage Month in May!

Opening Reception: 

DATE & TIME: Saturday, April 30, 2022; 3-7PM

OPENING RECEPTION ACTIVITIES:

• Music performance by DRQLA
• Spoken word poetry by Naomi Kurashige
• Live painting by Jarrad Mendoza
• Vinyl record sets by DJ Zaku.86

Please RSVP through Eventbrite.

Kapwa: Communal Spirit

The creative world today walks a careful tightrope with the ego— it is the source of both vulnerable inspiration as well as toxic self-inflation. We believe there is an alternative path away from this cruel dichotomy through building empathy with our collective self.

Our belief is expressed through kapwa, an Indigenous value of the so-called Philippines. Kapwa represents the communal spirit – a shared identity and interconnectedness with our fellow beings. This demonstrates the opposite of Western colonial values of individualism and competition, values that many of us are working towards healing and unlearning together.

In observance of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, a community of creatives unite to express what it means to possess a communal spirit. As we band together during tough times, we consider how much we can accomplish as a community. Kapwa encourages our artists to express what it means for us to dissolve our ego wholeheartedly into the collective.

ARTWORKS BY:
Philip Arneill, John DeCastro, Eutalia De la Paz, Hon Hoang, Miko Javiniar, Philip Košćak, Matt Manalo, Daniele Martire, Carol Anne McChrystal, Aaron Mendoza, Katherine Leung, Tim Russell, Sej Saraiya, Sunset Suh, Taylor Terewai Tiave, Aziz Yonuss

This exhibition is presented by ASIA PHOTO REVIEW x MATA ART GALLERY in partnership with Avenue 50 Studio.

EXHIBITION DATES: April 30-July 2, 2022