My Own Words: Krystina Lyon
Kasibulan, Womanifesto and women artists
By Krystina Lyon
'My Own Words' is a monthly series which features personal essays by practitioners in the Southeast Asian art community. They deliberate on their locality's present circumstances, articulating observations and challenges in their respective roles.
Womanifesto II participants having a meal, 1999. Amanda Heng (Singapore), Ko Hyun-Hee (South Korea), Mella Jaarsma (Indonesia), Kim Hea Sim (South Korea), Mayumi Hamada (Japan), Chen Qing Qing (China), Saraswati Gramich (Singapore), Sanja Ivekovic (Croatia), Nitaya Ueareeworkakul (Thailand). Womanifesto Archive. Image courtesy of Nitaya Ueareeworakul, Varsha Nair and Asia Art Archive.
My life took a turn in 2020. I submitted my art history thesis for the MA Asian Art Histories programme at LASALLE College of the Arts on two womens’ art collectives, Kasibulan in the Philippines and Womanifesto based in Thailand. My MA was duly conferred but it did not stop there. It dawned on me that it was only the beginning of a journey, not the end.
My interest in Kasibulan was personal as I lived in Manila from 1959 to 1972, leaving to pursue my studies when President Marcos declared martial law. I was curious to return as an adult and glad to combine it with my interest in contemporary art and Southeast Asian women’s art practice. Concurrently, my thesis advisor, Clare Veal, had invited me to an exhibition in Sydney of Womanifesto’s soon to be digitally archived material in the presence of the three co-founders. I noted the difference in their collective formats, and decided to compare the two collectives for my thesis. I argued that the format of a single gender collective contributed to the agency women artists needed in predominantly patriarchal societies, by providing physical and metaphorical spaces for women to continue their art practice.
“I noted the difference in their collective formats, and decided to compare the two collectives for my thesis. I argued that the format of a single gender collective contributed to the agency women artists needed in predominantly patriarchal societies, by providing physical and metaphorical spaces for women to continue their art practice.”
For context, Kasibulan was founded in 1987 by artists Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Julie Lluch, Brenda Fajardo, Ana Fer and Ida Bugayong. It was a formally structured collective created to give opportunities to its members to further their practice and exhibit in the male dominated art scene in Manila. At the time, women artists lacked economic support and places to exhibit. In addition, topics of women’s issues using craft and traditional fabrics were undervalued.
Womanifesto, founded in 1987, had a more informal structure that was outward-looking and attracted an international network of connections and collaborations. The three founders, artists Nitaya Ueareeworakul, Phaptawan Suwannakudt and Varsha Nair were similarly frustrated by the lack of support for women artists in Bangkok. They adopted processes, exchanges and collaborations and adapted their biennial gatherings to suit their lifestyles and family situations.
Although it had been forty years since Kasibulan had formed and thirty years since the inception of Womanifesto, their different modes of subversion still seemed topical. Kasibulan, was committed to formal membership and regular meetings, focusing on women’s issues, obtaining prestigious venues for their members to exhibit at places such as the Cultural Centre of the Philippines. They organised workshops, field trips and collaborations with artisans such as the papier mâché workers in Paete, Laguna.
“Although it had been forty years since Kasibulan had formed and thirty years since the inception of Womanifesto, their different modes of subversion still seemed topical. ”
Womanifesto adopted the biennial format, moving progressively to locations outside Bangkok, on farms such as Boon Bandarn Farm in Kantharaluk and were more experimental in their objective to find opportunities for women to exhibit. Oone of their projects, No Man’s Land, 2004-2006 was exclusively web-based, for instance. I was eager to share with a new generation of artists looking for support and community what I learned about how some of these different strategies could help further practice in traditionally masculinised art environments today.
Screen capture of an online webinar at SEA Focus between Citra Sasmita and Krystina Lyon that featured publication by Futuwonder Collective, January 14 2022.
The first of three encounters re-started my journey. During S.E.A. Focus in 2022, I moderated a talk for Yeo Workshop with Balinese artist Citra Sasmita entitled “Marginalised Women Artists in a Masculinised Contemporary Art World”. Attending by Zoom were founding members of both Womanifesto and Kasibulan. Whilst the discussion time was short, the hunger for further conversation, connection and community was palpable. I was interested in how younger, emerging female artists like Citra Sasmita, whose subject matter often threatens the traditional artistic status quo by creating new Balinese origin stories from a female point of view, were feeling isolated in their own environments, and were looking for community and support. Equally, I listened to how the senior artists of both collectives were available for that support beyond their own practices. I was determined to make introductions and assist to ensure these exchanges happened.
More recently, an editorial collective comprising Yvonne Low, Roger Nelson and Marni Williams of Power Publications at the Australian National University and the three co-founders of Womanifesto invited me to contribute to an innovative digital anthology and publishing project called The Womanifesto Way (working title). As part of the extended Womanifesto community familiar with their history, I was asked to engage with the database that Asia Art Archive (AAA) digitised for Womanifesto, and reflect on the legacy contained therein. The materials, such as photos, videos and ephemera donated by the collectives’ participants illuminate and animate their biannual residencies and workshops, providing an added visual and auditory landscape to my original research. My contribution will be included in the form of written reflections as well as audio material describing some on-going interactions with the founders and emerging artists I have introduced to the Womanifesto Way.
The interaction with this archive supplemented what I had learnt that was based on desk research, field trips and interviews. It led to fresh, more intimate insights such as the importance of friendships formed, play with purpose, collaboration and discourse with rural communities. The inclusion of varied media and materials including film, ceramics and weaving illustrated the creative activities inspired by being on Boon Bandarn Farm, such as straw weaving in rice paddies and filming projects with local school children.
Womanifesto members Nitaya Ueareeworakul, Karla Sachse and Varsha Nair at BACC ‘Flowing Connections’ exhibition, September 2023. Image courtesy of Kristina Lyon.
Finally, the engagement with the AAA material re-ignited my connection with the founders. I was invited to the opening of their latest exhibition in September 2023, ‘Flowing Connections’ at the Bangkok Art & Cultural Centre (BACC) and met them all in person for the first time together with other long-time artist collaborators, such as Karla Sachse and Virgina Hilyard. It was a warm, well-attended occasion that featured selected artworks from their formation through till today.
Pinaree Sanpitak at BACC with her work, ‘Confident Bodies’, 1996-1997, mulberry fiber paper and steel, dimensions variable. Collection of Miseim Yipintsoi Sculpture Garden. Image courtesy of Kristina Lyon.
Artworks included Pinaree Sanpitak’s ‘Confident Bodies’ (1996-1997) and Arahmaiani’s ‘Do Not Prevent the Fertility of the Mind’ (1997).There were also poignant memorials to friends and collaborators and their contributions such as Thai farmer, weaver and community leader Pan Parahom (1939 – 2014) and Japanese performance artist and feminist activist Tari Ito (1951-2021).
The exhibition title ‘Flowing Connections’ aptly parallels my MA journey to date. The MA was itself the source of the flowing connections I made and continue to make, merging my academic interests with real-world connections, a dynamic current that deepens my engagement with diverse artistic and academic communities.
Eisa Jocson and Citra Sasmita in Bali, 2023. Image courtesy of Citra Sasmita.
The turn my life took back in 2000 led to these nodes of unexpected connections with younger, emerging women artists such as Indonesian Citra Sasmita and choreographer and visual artist, Eisa Jocson from the Philippines. One of the most satisfying outcomes was introducing them to each other and to learn about their discussions of possible future collaborations. It is an example of the spirit of the objectives of both Kasibulan’s and Womanifesto, to support women artists with a community of other engaged, women artists, ready to collaborate and support each other.
Read all My Own Words essays here.
About the Writer
Krystina Lyon is an art historian and collector. She completed her thesis with distinction for the Goldsmiths’ MA in Asian Art Histories programme (in partnership with LASALLE College of the Arts) and is a specialist in Southeast Asian contemporary art. She looks at ways to increase the visibility of women artists in Southeast Asia through dialogue, discourse, and research.
