Don't Miss These Creative Workshops By A Pinay Toronto-Based Calligrapher

Pinay Collection, a Toronto-based Filipina-owned clothing line, aims to celebrate, own, and reclaim Filipina identity. One way it champions its mission is by launching its "Maarte, Maldita, Maganda" calligraphy workshop in Metro Manila and Rizal Province starting October 13, 2023.

The workshop uses brush calligraphy and art as a tool to address the impact of hurtful and derogatory words in Filipino culture that are often rooted in colonization and intergenerational harm. “The goal of this workshop is to provide a safe and supportive environment where participants can explore the art of brush calligraphy while addressing the impact of painful and derogatory words that have often been used to put us down,” says Jovie Galit, founder of Pinay Collection. “The workshop is meant to create a space for empowerment and collective storytelling.”

While cultivating play, the workshop series encourages participants to explore the role of language in developing our self-worth, as well as practicing creative healing in community. For instance, workshop participants look at words and phrases like ‘bruha’, ‘taba’, or ‘walang hiya’ that have been used to shame Filipinas and instead, transform it into words of resistance. The workshop series has been popular amongst diasporic communities in Canada and aims to reconnect to Filipinos in the homeland. 

“This workshop was always about confronting the words that our titas (aunts) and nanays (moms) used to make us millennial Filipinas feel some kind of way as we were growing up,” says Karla Villanueva Danan, a workshop participant. “Seeing how I can turn these hurtful words into beautiful calligraphy pieces while reflecting deeply on the hurt it comes from has been transformative.”  

Also founded by Jovie is the Pinya Letters which specializes in calligraphy services for weddings, live events, and physical store designs. Apart from running these businesses, she also has extensive training in supportive counseling, and trauma-informed spaces, as well as years of experience leading equity and anti-racism initiatives in public and private sectors in Ontario, Canada.

Maarte, Maldita, Maganda calligraphy workshops will be taking place in the following locations:

Friday, October 13, 2023, 6:00 to 8:00 PM 

Badass Shop + Cafe located at Marikina-Infanta Hwy, Antipolo, 1800 Rizal

Saturday, October 14, 2023, 2:00 to 4:30 PM

Paraluman Flora Studio located at 109 Kamias Road, Quezon City

Sunday, October 15, 2023, 1:00 to 3:30 PM

Good Food Sundays at Mandala Park located at Shaw Blvd, Pleasant Hills, Mandaluyong

Sunday, October 22, 2023, 2:00 to 4:30 PM 

Manila Middle Ground located at 2F, Unit 6, Comuna, 238 Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension, San Antonio, Makati City

Lead photos from @pinaycollection @joviegalit