“Ancestor Altars” Honors Loved Ones Who Have Passed Away During the Pandemic
Inspired by annual Filipino festival “All Souls Day,” Balay Kreative, local artists and community members come together to create altars to commemorate their deceased loved ones
Portrait by Cece Carpio | Photo provided by Kultivate Labs
San Francisco, CA - September 19, 2022 - Filipino Cultural Center Balay Kreative, artist Cece Carpio and artist TITTY are collaborating with Filipinx/a/o and BIPOC community members to honor their deceased loved ones through art installation “Ancestor Altars.”
This art installation includes pictures, names, and stories submitted by community members of those who have transitioned on and will be on view from October 27-30 at Kapwa Gardens and in a virtual gallery. From the community submissions received, Cece Carpio, a leading Bay Area Filipino muralist, will honor six ancestors who have passed away in the last three years with portraits. Kapwa Gardens will host an Afterlife Celebration with live musical performances on Sunday, October 30th from 1-6pm.
“This year’s Ancestor Altars installation project is a public acknowledgment and an opportunity to share gratitude to those that came before us and those that have transitioned in our community,” says Nicole Salaver, Balay Kreative Program Manager. “There is healing in community and we hope to offer a space for that healing this All Souls Day.”
Honoring the Past, Uplifting the Departed
Filipino culture heals by honoring ancestors in an annual festival called “All Souls Day.” To continue that tradition, “Ancestor Altars” was created to commemorate those that have passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic. “All Souls Day” is a holiday honoring those that have departed and is widely celebrated in the Philippines, Mexico and the Diaspora.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Filipino community, specifically healthcare workers, is undeniable. One study, cited by the New York Times, found that of nurses who died from COVID-19, Filipinos accounted for almost a third of them — despite only making up 4% of nurses nationwide.
Kapwa Gardens | photo credit: Kultivate Labs
Once the installation opens at Kapwa Gardens community members are welcome to continue adding offerings, pictures, and flowers to the altars, contributing to a living memory of deceased loved ones.
From the community submissions received, a program advisory board will select five ancestors who have passed away in the last three years to be honored by a portrait painted by artist Cece Carpio. Those not selected are still included in the Ancestor Altars and virtual gallery space.
“As a visual artist, creating these portraits becomes my way of giving gratitude and serves as a way of connecting to my ancestral lineage,” says the project’s Lead Artist Cece Carpio. “My ancestors are people in the lineage of my spiritual practice and beings in the lineage of life itself. Their existence in both the physical and spirit realms has guided us personally, politically, and spiritually in how we engage with the world around us and collectively in how we build communities.”
Using acrylic, ink, aerosol and installations, Cece Carpio tells stories of immigration, ancestry, resistance, and resilience. She documents evolving traditions through combining folkloric forms, bold portraits and natural elements with urban art techniques, resistance, and resilience.
Her work is influenced by people she has met and places she's been. Cece paints everyday people who have been invisible in order to share their thriving presence, to show the dignity and power of their existence.
“Ancestor Altars” was generously funded by The California Arts Council Impact Grant and the SOMA SCC Art Grant. It is a collaboration among Balay Kreative, Cece Carpio (Lead Artist), and TITTY (Installation Artist) and the Filipinx/a/o community.
Celebrating the Future: Nurturing the Arts in SOMA Pilipinas
Portrait by Cece Carpio | Photo provided by Kultivate Labs
Balay Kreative is one of many creative projects of Kultivate Labs, whose vision includes a multi-prong strategy to build a thriving commercial corridor in the Filipino Cultural Heritage District SOMA Pilipinas. Kultivate Labs envisions commerce that is culturally relevant, financially resilient, and adaptable to the market needs of all San Franciscans, including Filipinos and other BIPOC community members who are otherwise displaced.
Balay Kreative is a Filipino-American arts hub and accelerator in SOMA Pilipinas. Kultivate Labs founded Balay Kreative in 2019 in recognition that arts and culture cannot be sustained without directly addressing the lack of accessible and culturally relevant artist support and professional development for Filipinx/a/o artists and BIPOC. Balay Kreative represents local Filipinx/a/o artists that uplift diasporic expressions of Filipinx/a/o experiences so that artists may sustain and grow artistically within SOMA Pilipinas. It is a Filipino American Cultural Center rooted in community responsiveness to sustainability.
Balay Kreative provides grants, professional development courses to BIPOC artists living in San Francisco. Recent programming includes the newly established Kreative Growth Grants to accelerate the growth of Filipinx artistic expression in SOMA Pilipinas. Balay Kreative launched a masterclass series for BIPOC artists to take their careers to the next level. Artists are not only compensated healthily, but are also provided with marketing support, direct support from Balay Kreative’s Program Manager, and connected to the larger network of resources and mentors within Kultivate Labs’ community.
Kultivate Labs staff are 100% Filipinx + BIPOC and are composed of artists, activists, and community leaders from within the community. Balay Kreative participating artists are 60% women, 63% Immigrant/Undocumented, and 43% LGBTQIA+.
How to Get Involved
To RSVP and to learn more about this event, please visit balaykreative.com/event-calendar/all-souls-day.
BALAY KREATIVE PRESENTS: ALL SOULS DAY, AN AFTERLIFE CELEBRATION
Sunday, October 30th 1p-6p
Kapwa Gardens
967 Mission St
In SOMA Pilipinas
Free | All Ages
With performances by:
Nikbo
Kulintang Dialect
AstraLogik
The Performers of Mumu
Video from Kultivate Labs
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About Kultivate Labs
Kultivate Labs is a Non-profit Economic Development and Arts Organization. They create thriving commercial ecosystems by accelerating businesses that preserve culture and community. They provide space and opportunities for the arts to flourish so that commercial activities are activated and reflect the community at large.
About Balay Kreative
Balay Kreative is a Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas. With the overwhelming success of the UNDISCOVERED SF Night Markets, Kultivate Labs won a large grant by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development in May 2019 to develop a new Filipino American Cultural Center — Balay Kreative (Creative Home) — in the Filipino cultural district, SOMA Pilipinas. This initial grant kicks off a multi-year process to build a ~8,000 sq ft space with a visual arts gallery, a multi-purpose event space, a food court complete with a chef’s table and bar, along with space for artists workshops.