At one point, the workshop felt like group therapy but through drawing. Tish gave us prompts, and then she gave the other attendees and me a moment to tell stories about what we had drawn. Hearing what others had shared made me feel less alone as I can relate to some of the experiences they shared.

Tagalikha started 2023 by asking the real question - is pursuing your passion worth the cost? The word "Mahal" in Filipino shares two definitions: Mahal as in expensive, costly, or Mahal as in love. We invited three speakers to talk to us about the real cost of creativity. Is it too expensive to be an artist? Is our love for our art worth the sacrifices?

Through years of foreign influence, traditional mediums such as voyaging traditions, oral history, and weaving, to name a few, have been forgotten through time by the need to survive Western-driven economies. Without a next generation to carry this knowledge forward, a part of the culture dies. Luckily for us, there are people like Jonny who continue to fight.

How can we, as Filipinx creatives, tell our stories when traditional narrative models don’t always serve us? Through the medium of television, we will explore how we can challenge norms in our creative practice, seek out alternative patterns, and reshape narratives in our image - ones that are unapologetically ourselves and the world as we know it.

Pork barbeque, laing, merienda. Live music and games under the heat and wind of an NYC summer day. Welcome to Tagalikha’s first ever in-person gathering.