FilipiNEXT imagines what’s next in Filipinx Studies in Canada

FilipiNEXT imagines what’s next in Filipinx Studies in Canada

Group shot of FilipiNEXT conference participants

By Marissa Largo, PhD
Assistant Professor
Creative Technologies
Department of Visual Art and Art History
York University

FilipiNEXT was a three-day transdisciplinary workshop held at York University from July 13th-15th. The workshop brought together Filipino/a/x scholars, artists, activists, community members, and students to think critically about the growing field of Filipinx Studies and Filipinx Diaspora Studies in Canada. Lead organizers were Dr. Casey Mecija (York University), Dr. Marissa Largo (York University), and Dr. JP Catungal (University of British Columbia) along with Dr. Valerie Damasco (UofT), Dr. Conely De Leon (TMU), Dr. Lisa Davidson (York), Dr. May Farrales (SFU) and Dr. Ethel Tungohan (York).

A decade ago, the landmark anthology Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility was published (Coloma et al., U of T Press). Bringing together scholars from a vast range of disciplines to theorize about this state of Filipinx in Canada, this was the first compendium that consolidated leading voices in the field. Subsequently, Diasporic Intimacies: Queer Filipinos and Canadian Imaginaries (Diaz, Largo, & Pino 2017), expanded the field to include an examination of the contributions of queer Filipinos to the Canadian scholarly and cultural landscape.

Building these two ground-breaking collections, FilipiNEXT sought to address the changing terrain of Filipinx Studies ten years after the first collection was released. In the spirit of these two anthologies, FilipiNEXT examined the lives of Filipino/a/x in our current era, specifically as they are entangled with issues of labour, healthcare, migration, settler colonialism, capital, religion and faith, climate change, cultural production, and life amid COVID-19 pandemic. With close to 60 participants who included early career professors, graduate and undergraduate students, artists, and community members, FilipiNEXT provided a generative platform for transdisciplinary conversations to occur.

Closing plenary for FilipiNEXT: Ariel Dela Cruz, Christine Añonuevo, Dr. Lisa Davidson, Dr. May Farrales, Dr. Marissa Largo, Dr. JP Catungal, and Katherine Achacoso (online) discuss the legacy of Filipino in Canada (2012) and Diasporic Intimacies: Queer Filipinos in Canada (2017) and what is next for Filipinx Studies in Canada.

The proceedings also included musical and visual arts programming. Topline: Filipinx Diaspora and Sonic Aspirations in the City was held at Innis College on July 13th. The event featured a Q&A and screening with Romeo Candido, creator of the TV series, Topline a show that chronicles the musical journey of Tala, a 16-year-old Filipina from Scarborough. Moderated by Dr. Casey Mecija, the event included musical performances by the Topline star, Cyrena Fiel, and members of the Filipino Students’ Association at York University.

A visual arts exhibition was also mounted along with the workshop. X Marks the Spot: Filipinx Futurities, curated by Dr. Marissa Largo. Largo invited three established artists (Julius Poncelet Manapul, Patrick Cruz, and Ella Gonzales) and three emerging artists (John Ephraim Velasco, Excel Garay, and Revill Villanueva) to respond to the legacies, transformations, and aspirations of Filipinx visual art in Turtle Island. Showcasing sculpture, painting, installation, and photocollage, the exhibition gestures to the multifarious ways in which diasporic Filipinx artists invent aesthetic futurities as an emancipatory practice. The exhibition runs until July 22nd.

The final day was a graduate student workshop, which served as a space for PhD and master’s students to discuss the pressing issues they experience in the academy. Topics such as isolation, institutional racism, and financial barriers were raised. Advice on how to navigate such issues was provided by Filipinx scholars who already have positions in universities as an act of mentorship and solidarity.

Organizers and participants aspire to make FilipiNEXT a regular occurrence in order to consolidate, connect, and celebrate the growth of Filipinx scholars and artists in Canada and beyond.
To learn more about the workshop and events, please visit filipiNEXT.ca

Participants of the graduate workshop brainstorm what they require to be successful in the academy.

Dr. Casey Mecija, and creator of Topline Romeo Candido, along with the show’s star, Cyrena Fiel.

Posters for FilipiNEXT events
Photos provided