Balay Kreative: A Look Back at 2020
In 2020, our Balay Kreative team aimed to support local artists in any way we could during the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. From adapting our yearly programming to shift towards virtual events to applying for grants whose funding would support collaborations with other local arts organizations, we want to thank the community for supporting us and our work during this challenging time. Again and again, we’ve been overjoyed by the moments of connection and community that we’ve been able to build online with artists, creatives, and our community as a whole. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from this year:
Pivoting during COVID-19
When we kicked off 2020, we were ready to launch Baysia, a culinary and cultural immersive experience pairing local chefs and their take on Filipinx cuisine with live performances from local artists like Jason Bayani and a gallery of Kearny Street Workshop’s historical prints. When the shelter in place order was announced, we cancelled our upcoming events and drastically altered our plans for the coming year with the news that in-person events would not be possible.
Our goal was, and still is, to develop a new Filipino American Cultural Center called Balay Kreative (House of Creatives) in the Filipino cultural district, SOMA Pilipinas. While the realization of a physical space with room for performing arts, gallery space, and artist studios is a little farther down the road, our goal is to test different programs so we’re equipped with the knowledge and resources to successfully launch the cultural center in a few years’ time.
Our artists and their work play an integral part in determining our programming. The grants that are awarded support the work of local artists and creatives who are changing our perception of Filipinx American identity in the diaspora and carving out a larger platform to share our culture and voice. With this in mind, we moved forward with supporting artists whose projects responded to the current events and issues that our community is working through.
Flyer design by Andre Sibayan
Photo by Mogli Maureal
Dr. Jeannie Celestial’s workshop series, Celestial Journeys, sold out within a few hours of launching because her curriculum of tapping into ancestral knowledge and building a space to talk freely about identity and mental health resonated with our community. Similarly, Bettina Francisco’s Soul Fed EP sold out not once, but twice, when we launched it on the Balay Kreative store! Her lyricism and self reflection struck a chord with our audiences and united people across cultures and generations.
As we head into a new year, we hope to provide even more opportunities and grants to support our growing artist community in SOMA Pilipinas and the Bay Area.
Over $50k granted to artists in funds
This year, we were honored to grant over $50k in funding to 17 artists and creatives from our local community! The artists that were chosen have been creating artworks that reflect the rich culture and history of Filipinx diaspora in SOMA Pilipinas and across the Bay Area.
Our inaugural grant recipient, Erina C. Alejo, is an artist, researcher and educator who recently published A Hxstory of Renting, a multiplatform project building anti-displacement narratives from Alejo’s lens as a third generation renter.
From Jenifer K. Wofford’s series of paintings depicting local Pinay icon Victoria Manalo Draves to the immersive experience of taking a ride around the cultural district in the TnT Traysikel by Paolo Asuncion, Mike Arcega, and Eric Pascual, we are so proud to support our incredible community of artists and aim to award more grants to support this important work in the future.
Kreative Growth MasterClass
Flyer design by Andre Sibayan
In September, we launched our first workshop series, Kreative Growth: MasterClass, with the goal of providing a professional development bootcamp for artists and creatives looking to sustainably grow their practice. We saw a need for sustainability in our creative community and wanted to curate a workshop series with instructors and speakers that reflected our community’s needs, history, and hopes for the future.
Speakers like Anthem Salgado of Art of Hustle, Kristian Kabuay, Jason Bayani of KSW, Kat Evasco, and more shared their insights and experiences around sustainability. From honing a mindset that would enable growth to learning more about grant writing practices, the process of applying for grants, as well as utilizing online platforms to diversity income streams, participants ended the MasterClass with tools to help them grow their artist practice as well as a stronger community of fellow creatives to find support.
Balay Kreative Grantees: Sold Out Launches!
With the grants that we’ve awarded to local artists, many of them have partnered with us to help support the launch of their latest projects. From Bayani Art’s children’s books “Lapu Lapu” and “Gabriela Silang”, Bettina Francisco’s Soul Fed EP, Kim Requesto’s “Unedited Film” photo book, and Dr. Jeannie Celestial’s mental health and wellness workshop series, Celestial Journeys, their projects reflected the diversity of Filipinx American identity and provided a critical framework to view social and community issues like mental health, sustainability, and identity.
Upon the launch of each of their projects or workshops, many of our grantees’ programs or products were sold out within the first few days - some just a few hours - of launching!
We won over $70k in grants across 6 different funders
This year, Balay Kreative won over $70k in grants across six different funding organizations!
The funds from these grants have helped us partner with other local arts organizations like Kearny Street Workshop and Bindlestiff to collaborate on different virtual events. We partnered with KSW for a pandemic-adapted, virtual version of Baysia spanning three nights that included a poetry night, cooking demo, and more. Grant funding has supported local artist collaborations like Sami See’s and Kristian Kabuay’s interactive art installation, the Balay Bus, that will be featured at Kapwa Gardens soon!
We’re overwhelmed by the support from organizations like Zellerbach Family Foundation, Grants for the Arts, Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, and California Arts Council that have awarded us grants to support our local community of creatives.