PILIPINO CULTURE NIGHT

Mga Kapatid’s annual Pilipino Culture Night (PCN) production is a student-run celebration of Pilipino-American culture through acting, song, and dance. This project expresses the show’s culture and themes through illustration.

The 26th Annual Pilipino Culture Night is titled “Walang Kapalit” (translated as Irreplaceable) and is set in 1960/70’s San Francisco during the International Hotel Anti-Eviction Movement. The visual direction I decided to use is based on screen-printed protest posters to embody the show’s themes of social justice, community empowerment, and cultural solidarity.

Creating solidarity between the protesters during the I-Hotel movement and the audience members watching this PCN in the present was a major goal for the show’s scriptwriters and director. Illustrating people from both past and present onto the same image was a great way to embody this.

(From left to right)
1960/70's I-Hotel Activists: Al Robles, Estella Habal, Emil De Guzman.
Lead PCN Acting Cast: Kirby Araullo, Louise Ramos, Miles Orantia, Wayne Sy.

Promotional flyers (front & back)

A fist in the air is seen as a symbol for empowerment and solidarity, so drawing these images subtly into the background was a great addition. I also used these fists for the production’s t-shirt screen print design.

As a creative outlet for our culture, every aspect of this year’s PCN contributed to empowering the cast and audience about our history.