Hamilton-based artist Bhairavi Jathar shares thoughts on painting, productivity and the pandemic
C/O Bhairavi Jathar
Bhairavi Jathar is a Hamilton-based artist with a passion for painting. Inspired by the impressionists who painted outdoors, Jathar particularly partakes in plein air painting. She has participated in live art shows across Ontario and her art was recently displayed in the Hamilton Artists Inc.’s window activation series.
Jathar grew up in Pune, India and first learned the basics of drawing and painting from her mother, who is also an artist. She went on to study commercial art and advertising and worked for many years as a graphic designer and illustrator.
“While [completing my studies], I realized that my passion for painting was still there. So I continued painting outdoors and I was always surrounded by great teachers, artists, friends and colleagues . . . so I also learned from them and that's how my painting career started,” explained Jathar.
"While [completing my studies], I realized that my passion for painting was still there. So I continued painting outdoors and I was always surrounded by great teachers, artists, friends and colleagues . . . so I also learned from them and that's how my painting career started."
Bhairavi Jathar
She also travelled with her husband as part of his job and during these travels, she had the opportunity to study French art. Jathar has always loved painting outside and it was also during these travels she had the chance to try plein air paintings. Later she pursued a master of art to get more insight about Indian and western art.
Jathar immigrated to Canada in 2014 and continued to work as a graphic designer for a few years. Then in 2017, she decided to become a full-time artist. During these years, she began volunteering at an art centre that hosted live painting events.
These events are often paired with an auction, so as the artists are painting in front of their audience, the audience is also bidding on the paintings being created.
“These events are very, very interactive because you get to talk to your audience and they can give you feedback because they see you painting and it gives you motivation,” explained Jathar.
"These events are very, very interactive because you get to talk to your audience and they can give you feedback because they see you painting and it gives you motivation."
Bhairavi Jathar
Jathar began participating in these shows at the art centre but went on to participate in others across Ontario. In recent years, she has successfully participated in, juried and curated exhibitions in art galleries in Brantford, Brampton, Hamilton, Mississauga, Paris, St. Catharines and Toronto.
Unfortunately, the pandemic not only shuttered many galleries but also put many of the live events Jathar enjoyed on hold indefinitely. Despite these setbacks, Jathar noted the last year has been her most productive.
Over the last few months, she has been working on a series of paintings depicting important heritage buildings in Hamilton and some of the surrounding towns in Ontario.
“Every city has one building which is prominent there and that city is known by that [building’s] old architecture and so those things are also captured in my paintings . . . every painting is from a different city, in different seasons. So even though it's the same spot, in every season, it looks different,” Jathar explained.
Jathar hopes her art brings people some joy but more broadly she hopes that whatever the scene may be, people are able to connect to it and see something of themselves in her art.
Jathar hopes her art brings people some joy but more broadly she hopes that whatever the scene may be, people are able to connect to it and see something of themselves in her art.
Moving forward she hopes to do a series of more conceptual art around the themes of immigration and balancing different cultures.
“As an immigrant, how do I feel and how my culture is still here . . . and because my kids are growing up here, I always feel that I need to adjust with some things, which I never faced earlier. I grew up in a different atmosphere and my kids are growing [up] in a different atmosphere, so I always try to balance those things. That’s what I want to show [in this series],” explained Jathar.
Jathar has also been offering virtual art lessons for children and adults over the last few months and offered some words of encouragement for students.
“I would [tell them] keep doing what they want to do and don't get distracted with what others are doing. You keep doing your work, your art, because sometimes what happens is we see others are doing something different and sometimes we feel that maybe we are the odd one out, but don't think that way. You keep doing whatever you're doing,” Jathar said.
The Hamilton-based project Filipinas of HamONT is using interviews and surveys to find and connect the community
There are not enough spaces in Hamilton where BIPOC feel that they belong. BIPOC in the Steel City often feel disconnected from their heritage, their history and their community.
This is a problem that Anabelle Ragsag and Jessica Vinluan are hoping that folks in Hamilton with Filipino heritage will one day no longer have to face. They are helping to tackle the problem with their community-engaged project, Filipinas of HamONT.
Ragsag is an author and educator with a background in politics who immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2009. Vinluan is a teacher, the founder of BIPOC youth organization Redefine Twenty and a second-generation Filipina-Canadian who was born and raised in Hamilton.
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With their different backgrounds, they have made their project Filipinas of HamONT for all Filipinas in the city of Hamilton, whether they were born and raised in the city, a naturalized citizen, a long-timer, a newcomer or just passing by as is the case for many students.
They have made their project Filipinas of HamONT for all Filipinas in the city of Hamilton, whether they were born and raised in the city, a naturalized citizen, a long-timer, a newcomer or just passing by as is the case for many students.
The pair met in early 2020 at a Reaching for Power workshop, an initiative that teaches BIPOC women and non-binary individuals how to make a positive change in their communities. After the workshop series ended, Ragsag and Vinluan began in June 2020 to think about creating a project for the Filipina community. In fall 2020, they received a microgrant for the project and began sharing it with the larger community in November.
The project initially consisted of a survey designed to map where Filipinas in Hamilton are located. The survey asks for participants’ demographic information including: their highest completed education level; the province in the Philippines that any member of their family is from; if they are working, the industry in which they are employed; and the effect that COVID-19 has had on their livelihood.
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The survey results will be shared to show where Filipinas in Hamilton are. As Filipinas began immigrating to Hamilton in the 1960s to build the health sector, Ragsag and Vinluan anticipated that many of the Filipinas that participate in their survey will work in this area. However, they began to find Filipinas outside of this sector when they decided to complement their survey with interviews with Hamilton-based Filipinas.
“[E]specially being born and raised in Hamilton, I didn't really think that I could see Filipinas in different spaces and I think to be able to see that . . . like, “oh, you're not just in the health sector, there's other avenues that maybe I can take if I see myself in them” . . . [The project is] validating that it's not just in the health sector, but like other aspects as well and other spaces that Filipinos are taking up,” said Vinluan.
"[The project is] validating that it's not just in the health sector, but like other aspects as well and other spaces that Filipinos are taking up," said Vinluan.
Ragsag and Vinluan have completed eight of the 10 interviews that they aimed to do. They shared the first interview on Nov. 13, 2020 and will continue to share them until March 2021. The interview series neatly exemplifies the intention behind the project: they want to share stories of leadership, empowerment and living between two cultures.
“I grew up and it was very white-dominated spaces. I think that, as a Filipina, I felt like I didn't belong in a lot of the spaces . . . I felt like I couldn't have these kinds of conversations around dual identity and things that I feel like I had difficulties navigating. So, when Anabelle brought up the idea of starting Filipinas of HamONT through the YWCA project, I was so excited because I know there's a lot of these kinds of community collectives in Toronto . . . but I also feel like I don't belong because it's Toronto and I'm from Hamilton,” explained Vinluan.
Based on the feedback from some of their interviewees, Ragsag and Vinluan are working towards running online events that will enable them to continue the important conversations they began in the interviews. They are considering running a book club where they would read works by Filipino authors and hosting workshops on the history of the Philippines.
“I saw that a lot of second and multiple generations of those with Filipino roots have this thirst to know more about what it is like. What does it mean if I don't speak Filipino, if I don't speak Tagalog, am I still Filipino? Because of my teaching background . . . I thought that's something that I can do. That is something that I can contribute to the community,” said Ragsag.
“I saw that a lot of second and multiple generations of those with Filipino roots have this thirst to know more about what it is like. What does it mean if I don't speak Filipino, if I don't speak Tagalog, am I still Filipino?" said Ragsag.
However, in starting this project, Ragsag and Vinluan do not intend to take away from the work done by established Filipino organizations in Hamilton. They recognize the importance of churches, cultural gatherings, all-Filipino sports tournaments and student organizations such as the Filipino McMaster Student Association. They aim to work alongside these organizations to connect the Filipina community.
Despite the name, Ragsag and Vinluan are not completely closing the project to woman-identifying individuals. The project is intended to evolve with community needs.
“We see that our being here in Canada is rooted to that history of a feminized migration . . . So I think it started from there but at the same time, the project is an evolving one – it's not set in stone — and we are aware that identities are fluid, as well . . . the role of those who don't identify as male or female have been there in history but they [were] erased by colonization. That is one of the topics that we want to discuss: what is it in our history that was erased? Can we uncover them?” said Ragsag.
Ragsag and Vinluan hope that this project will enable them and other Hamilton-based Filipinas to continue learning more about their history and heritage. By having these conversations with their community and connecting with established organizations, the project will help ensure that every Filipina in Hamilton feels they belong.
By: Elizabeth DiEmanuele
The Student Success Centre and Graduate Studies have introduced new positions for 2019-2020 to support the academic, personal and professional success of international students.
“Enhancing the experience and academic success of our international students is a shared responsibility, which is why we are excited about creating a campus-wide support network around our students,” says Gina Robinson, assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of the Student Success Centre. “We want international students to know that we all care about their individual needs and are working together to get them to the right services on campus.”
Ana Pereira has supported McMaster’s international students for eight years. In this role, she helps students adjust to their new lives at McMaster and in Canada through transitional services, personal development and the International Student Buddy Program.
“Being an immigrant myself, I understand many of the challenges facing students and love helping them feel comfortable in this new place they now call ‘home’,” Ana says.
Francesca Hernandez joins the team in this role and will focus on establishing campus-wide partnerships that can support and contribute to the development and success of international graduate students.
“We want to ensure that the academic, social and cultural needs of international graduate students are met through new programming and engagement opportunities,” Francesca says.
“We also want to expand promotion of existing programs and services so that students and their families are aware of supports offered by McMaster and the broader community. We want them to enjoy a successful journey in their new country.”
In addition to programs and services, one-on-ones are also available. Andrew Staples, student success coach, will support both graduate and international students with their academic concerns, financial difficulties, transition, and navigation of university life. This position will support students on an individual basis and provide a more seamless support system.
Andrew shares, “We want to make sure students feel supported and welcomed during their time at McMaster, so we are encouraging students to ask questions and share any concerns they may be experiencing.”
Lajipe Sanwoolu, immigration and mobility advisor, can provide immigration consulting from both an inbound and outbound perspective, including international and domestic students who are interested in working in Canada or abroad.
“International students contribute greatly to our community,” says Lajipe. “It is important and beneficial that we continue to provide them with opportunities to contribute and develop themselves.”
International students provide an invaluable knowledge and perspective, both in and outside of the classroom. Lajipe’s role will support developing relationships between international students and employers, providing education about international hiring and dispelling hiring misconceptions.
Appointments with Andrew Staples and Lajipe Sanwoolu are bookable through OSCARplus.
For those interested in collaborating on initiatives to support international student success, email [email protected].
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