About the Exhibit
Perlas ng Austin: A Celebration of the Central Texas Filipino Community through the Arts is a unique revisitation of the fall/winter 2020 exhibit, Perlas ng Austin: The Pearls of Austin: A Celebration of the Central Texas Filipino Community. Its original Filipino-American Curators, Susan Fifer and Tonee Sinsay-Carpio (in collaboration with the Austin Filipino-American Association (AFAA), the Asian American Resource Center, and the Austin History Center's Asian American Community Archives Program) reclaimed the term, “The Pearl of the Orient" (a Spanish colonial phrase applied to the Philippines in the 1700s), to describe Austin’s local Filipino-American community. This exhibit featured a physical assemblage and a virtual showcase of archival images, documents, cultural items, and memorabilia from the AFAA Records (AR.2011.019), Susan Fifer Papers (AR.2012.029), Filipino-related Austin Files at the Austin History Center, and individuals from the Filipino community to detail the history and vibrancy of Central Texas’ Filipino-American Community.
Through the collaboration and curation of Filipino-American curator, Tonee Sinsay-Carpio, this new revisitation of the 2020 virtual exhibit shines a light on Contemporary Central Texan Filipino Artists, whose work in this exhibit interacts with themes of cultural identities, meanings, representation, personal narratives, and mythologies.
Meet the Curator
Tonee Sinsay-Carpio
Tonee Sinsay-Carpio (Manila, Philippines) moved to the US when she was a teenager, and currently lives and works in Austin, TX. She is a dedicated and active community member, volunteer, and leader within various Asian/Asian American communities and organizations in the US. Before moving to Austin, TX in 2014, she dedicated her time to serving various Asian/Filipino communities in Iowa by providing her leadership and support within organizations like the Iowa Asian Alliance, the Des Moines and Fairfield Iowa Filipino American Associations, and NAFAA-Iowa. During her time there, Tonee organized and led the first ever Philippine Independence Day Celebration in Iowa and continued to do so for the next 5 years.
In Texas, Tonee Sinsay-Carpio currently serves as the Vice President of Membership and Social Media with the Austin Filipino American Association (AFAA). She is also part of the Network of Asian American Organizations (NAAO), the Filipino Young Professionals of Austin (FYP-ATX), and the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (GAACC). She has been recognized for her volunteer work and philanthropy across the nation being nominated and awarded in 2022 as one of the Empowered Pinays in Texas.
Meet Joi Conti
Artist
Joi Conti is a Filipino-American artist who lives and works in Austin, Texas. She specializes in creative photography and story telling for people and brands who want to be authentically seen and heard. Her work revolves around capturing personal narratives through the use of significant locations, memories, histories, and ways of dress. She considers herself a visual narrator who spins stories "rooted in the earth and tethered to dreamland".
Joi Conti received her BFA in Professional Photographic Illustration in Advertising Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has exhibited her work at Open House 2022, covered Austin Woman Magazine, was featured in Edible Austin's Spring 2023 Magazine, and has been awarded the American Advertising Federation Student Gold ADDY Award (2011).
Joi Conti is also part of several professional organizations such as the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, Business Networking International Rock Your Biz Chapter, Austin Business Woman, and Filipino Young Professionals.
Meet Ro Higashi
Artist
Ro Higashi is a queer Filipino, Austin-based artist and webcomic creator of the popular series, Half of the Crown. She attended manga school in Japan, and is the mother of two very beautiful (but also very mischievous) daughters. As a freelance, digital artist, Ro has won the Sakuracon mascot contests in 2018 and 2022, designed the characters for Chibi Heroes (a board game by Frank Sronce), and is the winner of the 2023 logo contest for the Pflugerville Pride Association. She has organized various manga-drawing workshops and seminars for Japan Fair US, and the Bellevue Community College Japan Week.
Ro currently enjoys her time being with her family and dog, supporting her local Filipino Chamber of Commerce, and being part of the Young Filipino Professionals group.
Meet Sherwin Rivera Tibayan
Artist
Sherwin Rivera Tibayan is an artist based in Austin, TX whose works addresses our shifting encounters with photography, and its competing histories and narratives. His works have been exhibited widely, most notably at The Reading Room (Dallas), Mixed Greens (NYC), and the Houston Center for Photography. He has attended residencies at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (NY), ACRE (Chicago), and Triple Canopy (NYC). His works have been recognized by the Magenta Foundation, Photolucida, Artpace, and the Society for Photographic Education.
Project: Tsinelas
This project is a simple but indirect way for me to create family and group portraits of Filipino Americans by focusing on the way that these ubiquitous house slippers gather and collect at the threshold of doors and passageways, as signs and stories of warmth and welcome, but also as evidence of individual and community constructions of identity. And as much as these objects have specific and cultural meanings and memories to Filipinos, I think they may also find connections and understandings with other groups and communities.
Meet Arthur Soriano
Author
Arthur Soriano is the author of the Maharlikan Chronicles. This project updates the history of the Philippine Islands using discoveries in archaeology, genetics, oral traditions and lesser known history to tell the story of the people who live on these Islands called the Philippines.
It isn’t uncommon for historians to disagree on what happened in the past, but in Maharlikan Chronicles, those disagreements are settled according to ancestor oral traditions.
In Maharlikan Chronicles, the reader learns about the forefathers of most Austronesian peoples, the great ancient maritime “discoverers” who traveled the vast oceans, the “warlike people fond of human blood” who struck terror in the Chinese as they pillaged China’s coastlines and the warriors whose skills could not be matched in hand to hand combat.
Outside of promoting the true stories of the Philippine Islands, the main goal of this project is to financially support the education of Filipino children.
Meet Veeny Revilla
Artist
Coming from an extended family of carpenters and construction workers in the Philippines, my interest in art started at an early age. “You’re not a Revilla if you can’t draw,” meant everyone in my family knew how to draw and build things. Born and raised in the Philippines and Saipan, I was immersed in a mix of Asian and Pacific Islander culture that inspired my art and shaped me into who I am today. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting (2021) which led me to my creative path currently as a design teaching assistant at UT Austin and a creative mentee at Soho House Austin.
I love drawing funny characters and bold illustrations, inspired by my culture, to spread joy into people’s lives.
Meet Elsie Corass
Contributor
Elsie Corass is a small business owner and restaurateur. At a young age, Elsie's desire to support her family by cooking and selling to neighbors cultivated her passion for cooking.
In 2014 she started her food truck, Elsie's Egg Rolls and shared her passion for cooking by offering authentic Filipino cuisine at different pop-ups, events, venues, and functions in South-Central Texas. In addition to running Elsie's Egg Rolls, she also maintains and cooks at her brick and mortar restaurant, Elsie's Filipino Kitchen in Hutto, TX.
Elsie received her BS and Business Administration degree in Banking and Finance from the University of the East Manila Philippines, as well as a post graduate Diploma in Library Science and Information Technology from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
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Credits:
Images Courtesy of the Artists, Contributors, and Curators