'It’s a dream for Filipinos to come here and feel like they’re home': Mag-asawang Filo-Aussie binuksan ang tahanan para sa ugnayan ng kultura

"It’s an eventual dream to have a safe space and a platform for Filipinos to identify their culture, feel proud of being Filipino and feel like they belong in a country that is not their own," ito ang pangarap ng arts and culture worker na si Mariam Ella Arcilla nang buksan nila ng kanyang asawa ang kanilang tahanan para sa mga pagtitipon ng komunidad.

'The dream is for Filipinos to come into this home and feel like they’re back home with their family again and for non-Filipinos to come in here and understand the hospitality and the warmth of the Filipino people and to know that when they come here, they’ll be fed, they will learn something new about our culture.' Credit: Jack Lovell, Justin Cueno, Anna Hay

Key Points

• Koneksyon sa kultura ang nagtulak para simulan ng mag-asawang Mariam Arcilla at Mason Kimber ang proyekto na Magenta House.
• Binuksan ng mag-asawa ang kanilang tahanan para sa iba't ibang pagtitipon ng komunidad.
• Sa datos ng Australian Bureau of Statistics, aabot na sa halos 400,000 ang may pinagmulang Pilipino sa Australia.

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'It’s a dream for Filipinos to come here and feel like they’re home': Mag-asawang Filo-Aussie binuksan ang tahanan para sa ugnayan ng kultura

SBS Filipino

26:02Filipino

'Magenta House'

Binuksan ng mag-asawang Mariam Ella Arcilla at Mason Kimber ang kanilang tahanan sa Redfern para sa pagsasama-sama ng komunidad.

"We opened up our place in Redfern and hosted the community for supper clubs, food sessions, test kitchen, artist talks, reading rooms, screening, and we also have a shop now at the back," ani Mariam.

Tinawag nila ang kanilang lugar bilang 'Magenta House'.

Whatever the interests of guests visiting Magenta House can choose from the eclectic collection of over 2,000 books available in their library. Credit: Anna Hay, Magenta House

“A lot of people come here to use our library. So, they book an appointment to use our library. We have a lot of Filipino cookbooks and global south cookbooks and social studies, literature, poetry and art books.”

Isang bahagi ng kanilang tahanan ay inilaan bilang isang aklatan na may mahigit 2,000 koleksyon ng mga libro na naipon ng mag-asawang Mariam at Mason mula pa noong sila'y mga binata pa at dalaga.

Maaaring mag-iskedyul ng pagbisita sa kanilang aklatan para doon magbasa. Kasama kanilang koleksyon ang mga libro mula sa Asya, timog-silangang Asya at maging Australia, at may espesyal na istante para sa mga libro na tungkol sa Pilipinas at isinulat ng ilang Filipino author.

When I was growing up in the Philippines, I couldn’t afford to buy books and I had to go to the library quite a lot so I understand that books are very expensive and so me and my husband saved money from our freelancing so we can buy books so the community can access them if they can’t afford them.

Mariam Ella Arcilla

“When I was growing up in the Philippines, I couldn’t afford to buy books and I had to go to the library quite a lot so I understand that books are very expensive and so me and my husband saved money from our freelancing so we can buy books so the community can access them if they can’t afford them.”

Bukod sa aklatan, madalas din magamit ang kusina ng Magenta House para sa mga salu-salo at pagtitipon.

"We would usually have food demonstrations in our kitchen," kwento ng arts curator na lumaki sa Brisbane.

It's really nice to have an intimate engagement with people here so they don't feel overwhelmed."

Paliwanag ni Mariam na hindi tulad ng mga malalaking pagtitipon, ang kanilang mga event sa maliit nilang espasyo ay hangad na magbigay ng malapitang ugnayan sa mga taong dumadalo.

"We have a small amount of people that we are able to let in and host."

For Mariam, it's more than just the gatherings. 'There's a sense of finding your own rhythm and your phase in understanding how you want to get to know your own culture. Learning Tagalog at your phase, finding other like-minded individuals, and being in a very nonjudgmental environment helps.' Credit: Justin Cuenco

It's quite different when you have big events – 50 or 100 people, you don’t get the intimate close connection as much as you do when you're at somebody’s home."

Sa tulong ng kasanayan at talento ng asawang si Mason na isang visual artist, educator at DJ, malaking bagay din ang background ni Mariam sa mga art institution at mahabang panahon na naging art curator upang gawing isang community hub ang kanilang tahanan.

Inspirasyon at koneksyon

Si Mariam ay ipinanganak sa Pilipinas – ang kanyang ina ay isang Singaporean at ang ama niya ay mula Bicol. Tinedyer lamang si Mariam nang lumipat sa Australia kasama ang kanyang ina.

Sa kabila na sa Queensland na siya nagpatuloy ng pag-aaral at nagtrabaho bago lumipat sa Sydney noong 2017, hindi naman nito nalilimutan ang pinagmulan sa Pilipinas.

"One big thing that certainly has inspired me in doing this [Magenta House] is my lola. She ran a bakery in our house [in the Philippines] and she always brought people in to meet with us and buy fruitcake, or pandesal, from us."

"I’m continuing that tradition by expanding our Magenta House into a multi-dimensional platform for the community."

Malinaw sa memorya ni Mariam ang kinalakihang kulturang Pilipino at nais nitong maipagpatuloy ito at lalo pang pagyamanin ito at ibahagi ito sa mas malawak na komunidad sa Australia.

"The dream is for Filipinos to come in this home and feel like they’re back home like they’re in their family home again."

"And also for non-Filipinos to come in here and understand the hospitality and the warmth of the Filipino people and to know that when they come here, they’ll be fed, they will learn something new about our culture.

Cooking demo featuring Filipino chefs and other Australian chefs like Chef Aheda. Credit: Danish Ravi

"They will meet other people they might not normally come across and they’ll walk away feeling moved or feeling inspired or feeling like Australia’s a big enough place for us to co-exist."

Tahanan at kwento

Maituturing na maliit lamang ang bahay nina Mariam at Mason pero puno ito ng kasaysayan at patuloy na pagbabahagi ng mga kwento.

"It’s only three-metres wide but we make it work and it’s really nice to have an intimate engagement with people here so they don’t feel overwhelmed.

Maging ang mismong istraktura ng bahay ay may espesyal na istorya.

"Our space is a re-envisioned 19th-century Victorian terrace designed by award-winning New Zealand architect Adele McNab," ani Mariam.

The Magenta House in Redfern has an internal courtyard, where you'll find a 200-year-old Gadi tree growing long spikes, that serves as an intimate space for community gathering too. Credit: Justin Cueno, Jack Lovell

Si Adele ay tumanggap ng Australian Institute of Architects Award noong 2021 at nakasama sa shortlist para sa Houses Award – para sa disensyo ng Magenta House.  

Ang 62-meter square property ay pinaghihiwalay ng dalawang pabilyon na may courtyard sa loob kung saan makikita ang isang Gadi o Grass Tree na may 200-taon na ang tanda.

Taong 2022 nang binili ng mag-asawang Mariam at Mason ang lugar at sa sa basbas ng orihinal na nagdisenyo ng bahay, nagdagdag sila ng ilang istruktura sa bahay – kasama ang aklatan at creative studio - na pinupuno ng buhay ang espasyo ng bahay.

Nabuksan ang Magenta House noong Abril 2023 kung saan sa iba't ibang parte ng kanilang bahay tampok ang iba't ibang mga produktong Pilipino, gaya na lamang ng mga pamaymay, native basket, bag, mga laruan tulad ng sungka.

Magenta House has also opened its online shop featuring Filipino products from local Australian entrepreneurs and social enterprises in the Philippines. Credit: Aubrey Abanico, Magenta House, Isabella Melody Moore

Sa nagdaang taon, kasama sa mga naging pagtitipon sa Magenta House ang Tagalog Language Jam isang sesyon para matuto o magsanay ng wikang Pilipino.

Bukod sa pagpapayaman ng kulturang Pilipino sa Australia, layunin din ng Magenta House na madala sa Australia ang iba’t ibang mga social enterprise mula sa Pilipinas – ilang grupo na tumutulong sa mga grupo ng mga komunidad Pilipino na disbentahe sa buhay.

"It's always been a dream to work with social enterprises and the community to be able to give back."

Sinimulan na rin nila ang kanilang online Magenta House shop kung saan mabibili ang mga tampok na produkto at mga gawang Pinoy mula sa Pilipinas.

"I feel grateful to be able to do this and we have such a strong community of grassroots artists who really need exposure to support their families, and build their communities back."