Hello friends,
I hope you and yours are safe and well.
I know it’s been tough out there. I’ve always felt split between the two places I consider my home - New York and Manila. As the death toll in the Philippines from the pandemic increased, and the violence in the US from hate crimes poured into my feed I found myself retreating from posting on social media. I did so partly for my well-being but mostly because I felt that my voice didn’t matter as much as those doing the heavy lifting. Yesterday, as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed I came upon a post by Yiyi Mendoza , an amazing artist, curator and entrepreneur, where she wrote, “ My relationship with ceramics has always partially been dependent on the access to a studio. It’s ceramics’ inherent barrier to entry/barrier to participate that is of course more real and more present for communities of color. I know that as the world is in pain sharing your art might feel irrelevant, but if you are an artist of color or represent a community who’s art practice is due to a lot of sacrifice & overcoming the challenges of marginalization over and over again, your art is more relevant than ever” .
It has always been my default to blindly accept that it will be ten times harder to get things done as an immigrant. It really struck me to have that struggle acknowledged , and maybe, just our presence in an industry catered towards the privileged can be a radical act in itself.
As I write this, I know how incredibly lucky I am to have access to working in glass, as a woman from the Philippines. So upon reading that IG golden nugget of wisdom (thank you, Yiyi) I found myself able to sit down, and occupy a small moment of joy in sharing what I’ve been up to and what’s to come.
Last March I had the privilege of collaborating with Marwah AlMugait , on a piece for the Noor Riyadh festival in Saudi Arabia where I wrote a poem entitled “Dilaw”, and performed it via Zoom. It was then projected outside the National Museum of Saudi Arabia as part of Marwah’s piece about language and how it can bridge barriers of communication.
For women’s month I spoke about feminism with artist and educator, Nikki Valenzuela for Purveyr magazine.
And lastly,
I am thrilled to be included in an upcoming group exhibition in Greenpoint Brooklyn, organized by Julia Norton. (Remember Heart of Glass?) If you are or will be in New York this weekend, it is with great joy that I invite you to WITCH HUNT.
The show will be up for one weekend only, from April 30th - May 2nd. Reservations are required due to social distancing measures. Free timed tickets can be reserved through this link. Numbers are limited.
Witch Hunt
Artists:Amelia Carley
Johannah Herr
Jen Hitchings
Karen Lee Williams
Caitlin MacBride
Julia Norton
Goldie Poblador
Shira Schwarz
Homocats Studio @ The Pencil Factory
61 Greenpoint Avenue, #503
Brooklyn, NY 11222
April 30th - May 2nd, 2021
Reservations required: https://witchhunt.brownpapertickets.com/
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 12-6pm
A percentage of sales will be donated to Daughters Rising, an organization that works to empower at-risk girls in Thailand to end trafficking and exploitation in their communities.
For those of you who can’t make it, here is a sneak peek of what I’ll be showing.
AND .. The first edition of Astrology, my newest ring collection will exclusively be at WITCH HUNT this weekend. (online launch coming soon)
That’s it for now.
Thank you for holding space in your inbox and for your support.
All the best,
Goldie