The Bayanihan Center in Southeast Portland has been a cultural hub for Filipinos in the city since 2021, and leaders there say they’re determined to set down roots even as the future of their building remains uncertain. On Saturday, the center unveiled a mural depicting famous Filipina women as a reminder to the community about its strength.
In two years, the building at 1537 S.E. Morrison St. and its 40-foot-wide mural may be under different ownership, according to Nikki De Leon, one of the founding members of the center, which offers a gathering space, health programs, labor advocacy and youth programs for Oregon’s Filipino population of more than 47,000 people. Despite the anticipated change, De Leon said it was important to host the mural for as long as the group could.
On Saturday, artist Alex Chiu stood carefully near the top rungs of a ladder painting the name of legendary Filipino tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od as he put the finishing touches on the mural.
The large painting of 107-year-old Whang-Od, who still practices the tattoo art of batok, joins depictions of Gabriela Silang, the first woman to lead an army against the Spanish in the Philippines in 1763; Filipino revolutionary Tandang Sora, who aided the Philippine revolution in 1896; and Bai Bibyaon, the first female chieftain of the Manobo tribe.
The project, finished in just 10 hours, was a collaboration between the center, Chiu and Filipino hip-hop artist Talilo Marfil. Dozens gathered Saturday for food and live music to celebrate.
“This is a reminder of the strength of Filipino people,” De Leon said.
Marfil was the visionary for the mural and said Portland’s lack of Filipino-inspired art motivated him to reach out to the center to collaborate on the mural. They contacted Chiu, an accomplished mural artist whose paintings adorn schools, office buildings and transit stations, after obtaining a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Marfil used a timelapse of the mural in a recent music video to celebrate the accomplishment.
“The mural is significant to us because we haven’t seen our people represented on the walls in Portland,” Marfil said. “It’s a city that boasts art, and it’s a very eclectic, dynamic city filled with variety, but we’ve never seen our people.”
The Bayanihan center has expanded since it launched during the pandemic, now occupying most of the Southeast Portland building. The center is working on a fundraising strategy to find a more permanent space, De Leon said, and the group is hoping to open a medical clinic by the end of the year.
– Austin De Dios; [email protected]; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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