Balik sa Bayan: Box Packing

Balikbayan ("return home”) boxes are commonly filled with clothes, toiletries, and souvenirs gathered throughout the year by migrant Filipino workers who support their relatives by sending goods back to the Philippines. The boxes of Balikbayan Arch, a counter-monument by artists Xenia Diente (b. 1976, Filipino-American) and Jaclyn Reyes (b. 1986, Filipino-American) on view in Mabuhay!, will be deconstructed over the course of the exhibition and used to deliver care packages to community organizations across the Philippines. One Saturday each month, participate in "Balik Sa Bayan" events, whose title is derived from the Tagalog phrase meaning "to give back to one's country." The workshops center mutual aid efforts to connect communities across borders.