open gallery/artist dialogue

On October 25th, 2007, Maganda Magazine hosted an art gallery and artists’ dialogue in 100 Wheeler Hall. The event featured a discussion with acclaimed social documentary photographer, Rick Rocamora–who has photographed Filipino World War II Veterans, Muslims in America, and imprisoned children in the Philippines. Oakland painter Mari Rose Taruc was also present to discuss her work and the nature of art. Both effectively work for social justice in different mediums, and the stories they shared were intriguing and inspirational.

Maganda would like to thank everyone who contributed their work to the beautiful event; it was a genuinely exciting opportunity for any artist and social justice advocate. Creative Director Christine P. talks about her experience:

Art can bring people together (if only for three hours), and it can connect them for even longer. I was inspired and touched by what I saw last night, by the art itself and by the community effort to bring art and artists together.

Rick Rocamora’s work was especially moving (I seriously almost cried) because it really hit home for me– his photographs made me think of my dad, my grandpa, my relatives still living in the Philippines, the kids who I just wanted to hold in my arms, and all the people that I want to help, but just don’t know how to help. He made my heart ache. And that’s a good thing, because I needed to be reminded of all those things I felt.

-cp

 

Berkeley Art Museum Exhibition:: One Way Or Another: Asian American Art Now

Running through December 23, 2007

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now brings together seventeen artists from across the country who challenge and extend the category of Asian American art… The exhibition includes artists with roots in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Iran, Singapore, and the Philippines; with such geographic and cultural diversity, there can be no such thing as a collective definition of the constituency called Asian American. One Way or Another offers individual expressions that resonate with an internalized sense of Asian American identity to reflect, whether overtly or obliquely, upon the complex, ever-expanding, dynamic Asian diaspora.”

Visit the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) website for more information.

Berkeley Art Museum is located at 2626 Bancroft Way (between College Ave and Telegraph Ave). And remember, if you’re a UC Berkeley student, you get FREE admission. So go check out some art on your lunch break!