Being a Powerful, Beautiful, and Inherently Bay Area Pinay with ChiChai Mateo
ChiChai Mateo, one of Balay Kreative’s artists in residence, has serious range.
From painting murals depicting the power of women to founding a streetwear brand aimed to inspire, her art explores the journey of being free from our colonial oppression. Oh and she teaches too.
Yet, despite the weight of her important and intersecting work, she can’t seem to stop smiling through it all. Uncut takes of her interview show her jokingly staring down someone off-screen as a phone notification interrupts her, to wondering if her answer is good enough. It’s hard not to be pulled in by her vibrant Bay Area personality - a playful energy that is perhaps necessary to keep doing the work, but also seems to be inherently embedded within it. Because despite tackling an unjust world, through her childlike joy, ChiChai is free to dream and imagine a liberated future not just for herself, but also for everyone else.
In a conversation with Jada Montez, she talks about taking breaks, being a part of the Balay Kreative family, and why the Bay Area means so much to her.
Profile by Chloe Samillano.
“I absolutely love being a ‘Balay Kreative’...We’re here as culture bearers, we’re here to represent Fil-Ams in SOMA Pilipinas. It’s a great responsibility as well as a huge privilege.”
ChiChai in her studio space at Balay Kreative. She’s currently working on sewing recycled materials and making goods, such as tote bags and bucket hats. Photo by Jada Montez.
Could you talk about your origin story with art? How’d you get started and when?
My mom said I started drawing when I was a baby. She said that I was drawing faces on frosted windows. In theory that sounds cool but if you saw a baby doing that, her and my dad were like “Is she channeling mumus?” (Laughs).
I think because my mom recognized early on that I was very drawn into creating in general, she really encouraged me to pursue it. She always got me in stock with sketchbooks and markers growing up. With her encouraging me and then me developing my own art growing up here in the Bay, a lot of my influences come from street art and streetwear. So you could see like even just this terno (points to her shirt). I love putting together my culture with that urban twist to it coming from [the Bay]. I think just bringing that all together is definitely my origin story…(whispers) I don’t know if that was a good answer.
It was a good answer.
Okay thank you (Laughs).
Photo by Jada Montez.
What does being part of Balay Kreative mean to you?
I absolutely love being a “Balay Kreative”. I’ve been part of different arts organizations throughout the city, as well as in Oakland, but this is definitely the first one where I felt like it’s for someone like me. And it’s great to be able to ask for advice from different folks here, especially because we have similar backgrounds. So I don’t have to go into too much context, like we just get it - “bahala na” (come what may), you know?
It’s just nice being able to go somewhere to create art on such a comfortable level and know that we’re here as culture bearers, we’re here to represent Fil-Ams in SOMA Pilipinas. It’s a great responsibility as well as a huge privilege.
Can you talk about what you’ve created at Balay so far?
I’ve done a few workshops - I’m really excited that we have the Kulay at Kwentuhan watercolor series here. And in terms of my own personal stuff, I’ve sewn a lot of things. I’ve made a few paintings, but I think the biggest achievement that I’ve done here was painting my murals for Kapwa Gardens.
How has the Bay Area and its community impacted your Fil-Am identity?
Working on her San Jose Goddess painting (c. 2018).
The community out here has definitely impacted me in many ways, especially because I grew up all over the Bay. If I meet you at first glance, I would just tell you that I’m from Daly City, but really I'm from a lot of places. I’ve lived in Vallejo, Oakland, San Jose, as well as the city, so I’m already hella Bay as a starting point.
But what I really loved about moving between all parts of the Bay was finding our Fil-Am communities in each of them and see how we thrive and build each other up. I really dived into what being Fil-Am means to me when I went to San Jose State and joined our Fil-Am organization. Coming back to this side of the Bay, I taught at Galing Bata for a fellowship. And it’s just really empowering and beautiful to see that no matter where we are, where we Pinays especially are at, we’re there to uplift each other.
Affirmations Tee from ChiChai’s clothing company, Empire in the Air. The tee is part of the YOU ARE HERE collection, which celebrates you, your Empire, and the community you build with.
What role would you say your art plays in the community?
Oh, that’s a hard question (Laughs). I really hope to believe that my art is to uplift the community. Everything that I do with my artwork is to show that we are powerful, that we are beautiful in all different forms and that we have so much to give, but also we deserve so much too. I just hope that my work speaks for itself.
In more literal terms, I do a lot of different types of community events, teaching workshops where I bring in art to the discussion of who we are as Fil-Ams and how decolonization comes into play and just finding beauty within ourselves through art forms. And I think…(pauses). That’s it. I was gonna say more, but I got nervous (Laughs).
“Everything that I do with my artwork is to show that we are powerful, that we are beautiful in all different forms and that we have so much to give, but also we deserve so much too.”
ChiChai with fellow Balay Kreative artists in residence, Vivian “Veecaps” (left) and Cristine (middle).
What are you currently working on?
Hella sewing stuff, as you can see (points to the desk behind her). I’m making these tote bags, bucket hats, and I’m trying to navigate through all recycled goods for my sewing projects. I’m also working on more paintings. I just finished a really big mural, with the help of Vee, in mid-January.
What would be your dream project?
I have to talk in twos because my art form is painting and fashion. So with fashion, I would really love to come out with a line of more badass looking Filipinianas like this (points to her shirt) and make it available for purchase. And then in terms of visual art, I would love to have an outdoor big mural, with scaffold…that’s safe (Laughs).
“When you look at my artwork, I always embody different parts of nature as ‘woman’. Because I think that [women] are just as strong as Mama Earth herself.”
Who is one Filipina or woman in your life that is your biggest inspiration?
It’s really hard to pinpoint one person because I was raised by a matriarch. So I would say that the main source of inspiration would be that strong womanhood overall. I think that’s why when you look at my artwork, I always embody different parts of nature as “woman”. Because I think that [women] are just as strong as Mama Earth herself.
A snippet of ChiChai’s 415 sq ft mural, “Sharing the Harvests” for TNDC’s community food hub Kain Na, a new space to empower those facing food insecurity in Mission Bay with access to healthy and nutritious foods.
How do you tap into your own power?
There are different ways that I tap into my power, especially when it comes to falling from different things, like mental health or burnout. But I think the biggest one is to just dive into nature and take a break. Cut loose from scrolling and just get out and walk outside and breathe in fresh air. And that is definitely the best way to just clear my head.
What are three things you can’t live without? Describe three essential items you use throughout your daily life.
Number one, is my bullet journal. I am really particular about making lists every week of my schedule. Just because I’m a hella “gulo” (messy) Pinay (Laughs). I have a lot of different things that I’m juggling. And a bullet journal is the way that I can visualize everything.
Tying in with that, I have a lot of different pens that go with it. I’m really particular about what types of pens I use. But I like it because as an artist, if I’m gonna be making my own type of organizer, I wanna at least like what it looks like, you know?
The third thing that I cannot live without is…chocolate… does that count? (Laughs). I need it for a lil pick me up.
Wanna create with ChiChai? Be sure to follow @balaykreative and subscribe to our newsletter to hear about ChiChai’s next Kulay at Kwentuhan watercolor workshop and her future artworks! Check out our interview with her below.
If you felt inspired by ChiChai’s story, check out our profiles on fellow artists in residence Veecaps and Cristine Blanco.