Event
Bayanihan Hopping Spirit House
November 2015
Bayanihan Hopping Spirit HouseBayanihan Hopping Spirit House was part of an ongoing collaboration with Urban Theatre Projects to explore how the community practice of bayanihan can be creatively translated and expanded within different community contexts.
Further Information
The project is grounded on the translation of bayanihan, the traditional practice of community group work in rural Philippines, often represented through the iconic communal lifting and moving of a house. Bayanihan is derived from the root word bayan meaning town, nation, or community. The most recent demonstration of bayanihan manifested during the mass mobilization of Filipino and international volunteers in the aftermath of the super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that devastated the city of Tacloban in 2013.
From the small experiment of carrying a modest temporary shed down Northam Avenue as part of Practice and Participate in 2013, a much larger and more ambitious Bahay Kubo or bamboo hut on stilts was carried on the shoulders of the community during BANKSTOWN:LIVE in 2015,and re-situated at Bondi for Sculpture by the Sea 2015.The house is an evolving structure, suggestive not only of vulnerability to the forces of nature but also human capacity for resilience.
Bankstown Bayanihan Hopping Spirit House was one of nine works in BANKSTOWN:LIVE, as part of Sydney Festival 2015.
BANKSTOWN:LIVE – The making of Bankstown Bayanihan Hopping Spirit House
BANKSTOWN:LIVE
Creative Team
Alwin Reamillo
Reamillo is a visual artist whose participatory ‘social sculptures’ explore themes of colonisation, migration and globalisation. He has presented work in Australia and in the Philippines and has participated in national and international exhibitions, collaboration projects and artists residencies. He is currently represented in a major exhibition called The Roving Eye: Contemporary Southeast Asian Art in Istanbul, and divides time and work between Manila and Perth.
Reamillo’s practice explores ideas of memory, mobility, cross-cultural dialogue/exchange, community collaboration and the experience of moving back and forth between cultures, examining how these interactions can change ways of thinking. Through immersive exploration of intertwined themes of colonisation, migration and globalisation of culture, Reamillo has collaborated with community groups through mobile workshops across regional Australia and overseas, creating a number of participatory ‘social sculptures’ in the form of ‘vehicles/ vessels/-crafts’, in response to local contexts and histories.
Lead Artist: Alwin Reamillo
Builder: David Hawkes
Participants:
Eunice Andrada, Michelle Baltazar, Beatriz, Alric Bulesco, Lina Cabaero, Violi Calvert, Mon Carpo, Romy Cayabyab, Madeleine Challender, Manny Diel, Benny NgoVirginia Hilyard, Ronald Manila, Michael, Naty Millarez, Jun Relunia and Gary Smith.
Community Support:
APCO, Asian Women at Work, Radio Dalisay, The Filipino Australian, Filipino Sydney Press, Herald Newspaper, Knights of Rizal Sydney Chapter, PACSI, Philippine Community Council of NSW, Philippine Consulate of Sydney, Radio Sandigan, Salsa4Seniors and SBS Radio Filipino Program.
Event details
22–25 January 2015
BANKSTOWN:LIVE
22 October – 8 November 2015
Sculpture by the Sea
Supporters and Partners
Australia Council for the Arts, Arts NSW, Bankstown City Council, Bankstown Arts Centre, Bankstown Sports Club, Community Relations, Commission, Metro Screen, University of Western Sydney, VA Digital Hire, Sydney Festival 2015