Performing Translations: Exploring Feminist Theater Pedagogies in Translation Work
Artwork by Yllang Montenegro
It is an honor to announce that B.G.U. is hosting an online publication titled “Performing Translations: Exploring Feminist Theater Pedagogies in Translation Work”. The work is available in Filipino, English, and Japanese from the link below.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Performing Translations is a collaborative translation project culminating in an online publication launch, between four collaborators working on and with a central text, “Ang Kalakasan at Pag-asa sa Sining [Covid19 Journals]”. The text was written by Filipino artist-migrant worker Yllang Montenegro during the start of Covid19 and was published on the WomenWritingWomen website on July 2020.
The essay details Montenegro's experience, then also working as a part-time hotel cleaner in Osaka, when the pandemic hit and how she and fellow migrant workers empowered one another through art, print-making, and livelihood initiatives.
This new proposed project is, in a way, a continuation and deeper exploration of those initial engagements by the four participants. The proposed project will forge new nodes and pathways in the network of artists and communities working with/in intersectional feminist and gender discourse. The translation project goes beyond the text itself as four women from different and complex backgrounds, personal histories, and identities negotiate translations and exchanges of their experiences. The translated text and launch event seeks to surface the nuances of the experiences of migrant workers in Japan to audiences in Japan, Philippines, and elsewhere. The translated texts will help shed light on the struggles and triumphs of marginalized voices, often invisible in discourse because of the limitations of language. With the B.G.U. zine and collective hosting the translated works, we also hope to strengthen feminist solidarities transcending the national and cultural borders between Japan and the Philippines.
The main activities leading up to the launch involved a series of online writing workshops, which introduced feminist theater pedagogies and other creative methods for collaborative learning, writing and reflection.
The collaborators met online to have candid dialogue surrounding anything from feminism and art, to life in our locaities and everyday struggles.
Ness Roque - Facilitator
Franchesca Casauay - Filipino > English translator
Yume Morimoto - English > Japanese translator
Yllang Montenegro - main resource person
