Highlights
- Community workshops are free but with limited spaces
- Sari-sari gift shop is a workshop exclusively for young Filipino children while Kusina Konversation will explore the role of food as a shared language across diasporas of colour
- Saluhan is looking into the possibility of working with more Australian-Filipino filmmakers based in Melbourne and Australia
It was established in 2019 by Aida Azin with three events in Quezon City, Philippines, Adelaide, and Footscray, Melbourne.
It was a series of live events focusing on music and the arts, but the pandemic shifted its focus to online events until recently. Their initial offering was Kidlat Tahimik’s Perfumed Nightmare and with another screening of his work
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Saluhan: Conversations on understanding and exploring Filipino identity
SBS Filipino
11/03/202210:01
When asked why Kidlat Tahimik, the immediate response was ‘I think the question is why not? He is the Grandfather of Philippine Cinema, his works are not only artistically relevant but it’s also the things that he explores; the Filipino identity intersects with the western lens and his work really resonates with us as a collective,” says researcher and community practitioner Catherine Ortega-Sandow.
Kidlat Tahimik's "Perfumed Nightmare" was screened in February Source: Saluhan Collective
Finding a connection
The collective is not just limited to artists but is a mix of creative individuals.
“We are not first-generation or second-generation Filipinos, most of us are interracial and we don’t all look the same We are not connected to language or connected to culture, we might not all look the same it became a space for us to hold and explore what Filipino identity is,” says MJ Flamiano, visual artist, producer, and community arts worker.
Sari-sari Giftshop will be led by visual artists Aida Azin and MJ Flamiano in May. It is exclusively for Filipino children aged 6-10 years old Source: Saluhan Collective
Dialekto, their latest project with a series of artists-led workshops running from the month of March until May. Each workshop is unique and caters to different groups. It explores many aspects of migrant identity from what it means to be a balikbayan to exploring your connection to your identity through food. “We are looking into connections not only culturally but intergenerationally, some might not be able to connect through the elders of their community but younger people are finding ways to connect through food as that vehicle of language,” says Catherine.
