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Jess Santiago

Posted on by Rosemae Pranciliso

Jesús Manuel Santiago or Jess Santiago is a Filipino male poet, songwriter, singer-composer, protest musician and translator. He is also known affectionately as “Koyang.” Regarded as one of the pioneers of the people’s music movement in the country, he was co-founder and executive director of Musika Philippines, a resource center for people’s music. He co-organized the Musicians for Peace, an association of songwriters and musicians involved with the people’s movement. He has previously recorded two albums of his own songs, Halina (1991) and Obando (1993). He wrote and recorded The Village, the anthem of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural, and United World. Jess spearheads the Asian Movement for People’s Music (AMP3)collective which is working to build a regional network of socially-engaged musicians.

Tony Amaral

Posted on by Rosemae Pranciliso

is a visual artist. He was born in East Timor in 1984 and grew up in Dili through the Indonesian occupation.  Tony joined Arte Moris Free Art School in Dili in 2002 as one of the first students of the school. His work hangs in the Presidential Palace in Dili, East Timor.  In 2008 he was awarded a scholarship to study art at The National Art School in Sydney, Australia. He attained a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2011. He was also awarded the Chroma Prize for Painting in his final year. He gave his first solo show in Dili in October 2011. It was the first solo exhibition by a Timorese artist in Timor and was received with critical acclaim. In 2012 he gave his first solo exhibition in Sydney At The Vanishing Point gallery in Newtown. He also participated in the 15th Asian Biennale in Bangladesh.  Growing up in a country under occupation has had a profound influence on Tony which he expresses through his art.  (from http://www.animatismart.com/exchange/)

Etson Caminha

Posted on by Rosemae Pranciliso

Visual artist and musician Etson Caminha has a dynamic background as a performer, educator and collaborator.  A prominent member of the Timorese artistic community, Etson has developed a number of stomp bands, created numerous murals and works of street art, and composed for theatre, dance and airlines.  His oil, acrylic and airbrush paintings have been exhibited in Australia and Europe, many commissioned by NGOs, international artists and former president Jose Ramos-Horta. Etson often plays the role of educator in both music and art, curating group works in Dili and rural areas of Timor while drawing participants from local youth and community groups to develop works in promotion of peace.  (from http://www.animatismart.com/exchange/)

Messenger Band (Cambodia)

Posted on by Rosemae Pranciliso

A garment worker girl band which grew from Womyns’ Agenda for Change (WAC)’s long engagement in the self determination building among Cambodian garment workers. WAC’s approach has been to expose and conscientious women workers in order for them to fully participate and determine their paths as a collective to bring positive change to workers as a social group and more broadly to challenge on gender stereo type, discrimination and violence in society. Apart from traditional forms of communication and learning, workers have seen through their exposure elsewhere the power of song. 

Musicians from Southeast Asia come together to collaborate on songs that amplify and support peoples’ struggles across the region

Posted on by Jasper Raborar

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PRESS RELEASE

The Asian Music for Peoples’ Peace and Progress or AMP3, a collective of artists with a network of socially engaged musicians across Asia is organizing a co-creative cross-cultural songwriting workshop to be held from 14-20 June, 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Sama-sama: Asian Co-Creative Gathering” will bring singer-songwriters associated with AMP3 from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, and Thailand together to co-create and cross-translate songs about social, political, cultural, and other issues they and their communities face.

According to AMP3 convenor Jess Santiago: “The project will explore, assess, identify and synthesise processes of co-creation and cross-translation among artists (singer-songwriters especially) from Asia.  We hope to initiate processes that may be replicated for and adapted to varying conditions facing artists and their communities in future related activities. The project will promote both artistic merit and social impact in exploring processes to be developed and adapted thus fostering both the intrinsic and instrumental value of Asian People’s Music.”

Filipino-Australian musician Bong Ramilo, one of the faciitators of the workshop adds: “The participants will work through structured workshops to discuss and select themes inspired by the realities of their communities and collaboratively create songs featuring diverse Asian languages and musical idioms based on these themes. They will also cross-translate songs — for example, translating a song in Bahasa Indonesia into Khmer and other languages (those of the participants) — to better popularise diverse songs across the Region.

A recording of the songs from the co-creation and cross-translation workshop is targetted for release by the end of the year.

This project is supported by the ANA – Arts Network Asia (www.artsnetworkasia.org), an enabling grant body, set up by a group of independent artists, cultural workers and arts activists from Asia, that encourages collaboration, initiated and sited in Asia and carried out by Asian artists.  The workshop is also made possible with the continuing support from Focus on the Global South and the Thai Public Broadcasting System.#