Visiting Australia for the fourth year in a row, the US-based "Ang Gitano" author reveals that he is flying back to the Philippines end of June after 12 years of literally avoiding the country despite doing workshops and projects around Asia including Singapore and Malaysia.
"Yes, I am ready to go home! The Philippines is pulling me and I am ready."
Giovanni Ortega with Filo-Aussie artist Caroline Garcia at the Art Dialogue Pilipinx Diaspora held at The Luggage Store Gallery in California in May (Facebook) Source: Giovanni Ortega's Facebook
"It's funny I call it home, right, but I've never been there for the past 12 years now," shares Ortega who presented the "Canvas of my Body" at the Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta in Sydney this June.
The said workshops was aimed at deepening the participating artists' understanding and use of acting techniques in representational and devised theatre to instill depth and breadth in the portrayal of believable characters whether they are based on reality or imagination.
After the Philippines, Ortega will be fly to Singapore in July for a couple projects, and then as part of a EnviroLab Asia grant, he will be working for a project with the Indigenous Kayan people in Borneo.
Giovanni Ortega (3rd row, 4th from left) with the Kabaret Singapura participants in January 2019 (Giovanni Ortega's Facebook) Source: Giovanni Ortega's Facebook
"One of the main things that is really important for my work is cultural authenticity and not appropriating stereotypes," Ortega believes in creating an accepting and inclusive relationship with artists and communities alike regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and class.
Giovanni Ortega has previously teamed up with several organizations around the world to observe how the arts are used to inform different populations about how we can decimate discrimination and enhance acceptance.
