habi habi po
habi habi po is a non-profit collective of Toronto-based Filipino/a/x artists focusing on
building community through traditional textile art practices to preserve Philippine cultural heritage
and revive ancestral connections.
members
Maria Patricia Abuel (she/they) is a Toronto/Tkarón:to born and raised Filipinx interdisciplinary artist, community worker, and arts and culture educator and administrator. She has an Honours Bachelor of Arts, Studio Specialist Degree completed at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Patricia is the Program Manager of KAPISANAN Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture - creating programs like KAMI that empowers femme and non-binary Filipino/ax youth artists. They are also a workshop facilitator for elementary and high schools in the GTA to teach students about Filipino culture and lead paper weaving crafts and parol-making lessons. Patricia is dedicated to providing accessible platforms to equity-deserving groups through arts and passionate about bringing meaningful experiences to different communities.
Bianca Isabel Garcia is a researcher, writer, and artist studying Philippine history and US imperialism through the lens of fashion. Bianca finds purpose in learning and sharing Philippine textile knowledge through collaborative creation. Her writing was featured in Border Garments: Fashion, Feminisms, and Disobedience, a Fashion Studies Journal Special Issue (2023), and her scrap fabric sculptural art BAGYO: Text(ile) Parol and Terno Prototype (2023) was exhibited at Patuloy ang Laban: Legacies of Filipino Activism in Toronto. In addition to a history of organizing art-based events such as drag shows, protests, and Filipino fashion shows, Bianca also teaches creative mending techniques during w.a.s.t.e.’s “From Here to Wear” slow fashion community programming at East End Arts. Bianca holds a MA in Fashion from Toronto Metropolitan University
Norwin Anne is a Filipinx multidisciplinary artist, (re)maker, and eco-culture communicator. They studied Fashion Techniques and Design at George Brown College with a waste-conscious approach and slow fashion mentality. Primarily working with secondhand materials, they started focusing on textile waste as a research study during school to understand its environmental impacts and beyond. After experimenting with new ways to use salvaged textiles in their work, they were inspired by traditional weaving techniques in the Philippines and have been exploring the art form as a way to (re)connect to their cultural roots. They curated their own art installation titled "Balikbayan" which was intended to address the global waste crisis and specifically highlight the Canada-Philippines waste dispute from 2013. They also created a digital zine called "Weaving Art'' which is a creative response to four banig pieces from the Textile Museum of Canada’s collection that’s featured in their "Gathering" installation. They also recently facilitated a weaving workshop with KAPISANAN as part of their KAMI program named “Samahan sa Basahan'' that intended to revive and promote the art practice of weaving, but with modern methods using found and discarded materials.
what does it mean?
habi habi po means “weave weave” in a respectful or formal way in Tagalog
and is a play on the phrase “tabi tabi po” which can be translated to “step aside please“ or “excuse me”.
“Tabi tabi po” is uttered to prevent harming dwendes (invisible forest spirits) and from being cursed.
As a collective who loves weaving, spooky things, and Philippine folklore,
we thought the name habi habi po would be fun and very fitting for us!