SILINGAN SENI (Artistic Neighbour)

A CrossBorder Art Initiative of Mindanaoan and Sabahan Visual Artists

October 24 and 25, 2017

Zamboanga City, Philippines

Silingan Seni Project: A Cross Border Art Initiative of Mindanaoan and Sabahan Visual
Artists is a subregional artistic exchange event that will feature a visual arts exhibitions, art conversations,
and art-on-site-interaction activities both in the Philippines (Zamboanga City) and Malaysia (Kota
Kinabalu and Ranau). Silingan is a Visayan word for neighbour, while seni is a Malay word for artistic.
These two words, in gist, best describe the project to be implemented in the subregions bordered by the
Sulu zone.

This will be first for seasoned artists in Mindanao to exhibit together, engage and share
experiences, and create together art-on-site-interactions with Sabahan artists in Zamboanga City and Kota
Kinabalu.

Prof. Abraham A. Garcia, Jr., a Mindanao-based practicing artist, art educator, and cultural
worker, have met and has ongoing communication with the Cracko Art Group, Pangrok Sulap, and briefly
immersed in the Sabah art scene. The possible artistic engagements were discussed during the
implementation of the Sabah Art Reach Out Project and Initiate Plans for Cross Border Art Silingan
Seni Mindanao and Sabahan Visual Artists last 15 to 21 October 2015 in Kota Kinabalu and Ranau.

The Sabah Art Reach Out Project was supported through the Culture and Diplomacy Grant of the
NCCA with the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Moreover, Garcias
accommodation, travel, and documentation expenses were funded through a 2015 IFP Alumni Awards
Grant. Prof. Garcia is also Co-curator for the Philippines in the Singapore Biennale 2013.

In the Philippines, Silingan Seni will be tied up in partnership with the City Government of
Zamboanga City as one of the highlights of the Hermosa Festival on 24 to 25 October 2017 and as a
run-up to the Mindanao Week of Peace in November 2017.

Silingan Seni will also be a pioneering endeavour in contemporary visual arts practice in the
subregions since the launched of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia
Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) during the Ramos Administration in 1994. BIMP-EAGA is geared towards
economic cooperation. EAGA is comprised of the following focus areas: the entire sultanate of Brunei
Darussalam; the provinces in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua in eastern Indonesia; the states of
Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the
Philippines.
 The Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) has always been the forefront of Western
Mindanao in the promotion of the arts and culture in the city and the region. In 2007, The Gallery of the
Peninsula and the Archipelago (GPA) was established to give recognition to local artists by providing
them the venue where they can showcase their works to the public. Since its opening on 24 February
2007, it has featured more than a hundred artists in either solo or group exhibits; it has hosted several
forums on art related topics, ran summer visual arts courses, and recently chosen as a regional collecting
center in one of the prestigious art competitions in the Philippines.

It is along this line that AdZU, through the GPA, envisions to have its part in the promotion,
propagation and safeguarding of culture and the arts of Mindanao, by gathering seasoned and emerging
visual arts in an assembly that will boost the visual arts community to initiate, or to continue establishing
linkages in both governmental and non- governmental institutions and to further reap the products of
our local visual artists. It is looking forward to expand its artistic linkages to Southeast Asian artists
beginning with the Sabah Art Gallery.

TRAVELING TO ZAMBOANGA CITY

Aptly titled asAsias Latin City, Zamboanga Cityis the third oldest city in the country, having
served as the main stronghold of the Spaniards in the South during the Spanish Colonial Period. As such,
it is a city rich in history and culture. Arguably the one province which has the most enduring of all the
Spanish influences, the people of Zamboangas native dialect is Chavacano, the only Spanish-based
Creole language still in use in Asia. Zamboanga is also known as the Sardines Capital of the Philippines
where 9 out of 12 sardines company in the country is currently operating. In terms of land area,
Zamboanga City ranks as the third largest city in the country.

Despite security concerns because of past history of conflict, the City Government of
Zamboanga through the help of the Armed Forces and the Police force has maintained the peace and
order in the city.

Zamboanga City is safe to visit. Security plans for the month-long Hermosa Festival celebrations
have been effective in maintaining the peace and order during the celebration.

The organizers of Silingan Seni have also requested for security and emergency vehicles to
augment the safeguarding of the delegates of Silingan Seni.