Bhen Alan: Diasporic Threads in Providence: Redefining Filipino Identity and Community Through Arts + Celebration

Bhen Alan creates interdisciplinary performances and art installations as transformative vehicles for bringing communities together. In June 2022, Alan premiered "Diasporic Threads in Providence: Redefining Filipino Identity and Community Through Arts and Celebration" at PVD Fest '22, in collaboration with the Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, the first event of its kind in RI celebrating Philippine Independence Day on June 11.

Centered around activating monuments steeped in complex colonialist histories, Alan's public installation incorporates the traditional Filipino "banig", along with free weaving workshops and public dance performances featuring the Filipino American communities in New Bedford/Dartmouth and Tiverton, RI. The resulting work brings visibility to the complexities of global culture and personhood.