What it means to hold space

I had the pleasure of facilitating a community and empowerment workshop at the annual Kultur Bayanihan Österreich Arts and Culture Festival (KUBO) in Vienna on September 3, 2023.

KUBO is a Festival that hosts space for FilipinX talents to share their perspectives on art, culture and heritage. One week after this extraordinary experience I am still in awe - by the mere multifaceted and density of talent that can be found in the European FilipinX Diaspora. My community.

Not only was I able to attend an event that was made by and for people like me, but I had the opportunity to share my personal take on life and art as well. What a great experience!

Only one year ago I had no idea that this was even possible, that a space like this exists. And for that I am eternaly greatful. But more than that, for one year now I get the chance to experience first hand what it means to create and hold spaces for people that have either in their own life or in the life’s of their family members experienced migrating their identity and roots into another country and culture.

Just for one year now, since I get to meet and listen and talk to more and more people I have come to understand on a deeper level that many of my own questions about belonging, feelings of misplacement and misjudgements are all part of a broader story.

I am so touched by the fact that I was able to bring some sort of relieve, inspiration and maybe even opportunity to heal by merely holding space for a shared experience. Which brings me to the topic of our workshop.

Since I’ve been following up on my own journey of ancestral research I’ve stumbled across the concept of Kapwa. Especially the work of Psychologist and Researcher Carl Lorenz Cervantes (@sikodiwa) has helped me to find myself and my personal take on life in a concept that is deeply rooted in my peoples pre-colonial wisdom. And I can feel it, I can understand it, without even speaking the language that it is expressed in.

Why? I can find several different explainations for this. For one - many cultures have come up with this kind of perspective on humanity, on what it means to be human and share experiences and space with other humans. Even in the culture and language that I was raised in I can find similar concepts. Like Martin Bubers philosophical take on Der Mensch wird am Du zum Ich that has been translated into the psychoanalytical understanding of human becoming, relating and individuation. Further more I have found that also in African humanist philosophy there is the concept of Ubuntu which in my understanding translates into “I am because we are”. And last but not least for many years now I have been studying up on Bhuddist and Vedic philosophies and perspectives on what “self” and “oneness” could mean.

I do not have the intention to lecture on any of those concepts as an expert. I rather would like to point out my personal perspective on what these commonalities mean to me and could mean to others as well. Understanding more about where my mother and at the same time I come from gives me comfort and encouragement. For the first time in my life I get to be proud of who I am and of the richness that I - as a mixed “race” European Filipina - bring to my own but also into the lives of others.

This might sound a bit drastic. But let me tell you this - since I first consciously got aware of how different my life was from those that I grew up around this has not been the case. Why? Again I can find many multilayered explainations for this. For one - in German culture there is a deeply ingrained wound around pride and heritage. World War II has taken the identity of millions of people and almost 80 years later this wound has still not been tended to in a way that really helps to heal. And further more, growing up in a country with a single mom from a country which is up until today a place that is referred to by several underminding and devaluing sterotypes that I will not reproduce in this text I mainly grew up with the pressure of explaining and defending my family and myself.

But No More! like the title of one my songs that I had the pleasure of sharing as well - I have come to the point to set new intentions for myself, for my worth and for what I am willing and able to bring into this world. My and therefore your - OUR STORY - is a story of transforming pain into glory, misery into victory AND shame into pride!

I invite you to share this journey of transformation with me.

Like my poem on Kapwa says “I surrender my soul to the devine journey of service”. I serve everyone who can find parts of themselves in me and in my story. As I have always found stories, narratives and perspectives on life that have helped me to find all the fragmented pieces of myself and mend them into my own perfectly imperfect art piece of life.

I especially want to thank each and every person and soul I have come to share presence with, not only in my workshop and my performance, or at last weekends festival in general. But also this past year on my journey of becoming that has been deeply inspired by the beautiful people of Halo Halo Network as well as of the Rice & Roots Collective who hosted their first Festival for the German Asian Diaspora in Cologne (find a personal reflection on my experience in german here).

I can’t wait for us to rise and grow further and transform our life’s stories together. Because WE ARE MANY!

Follow my journey here or on Instagram. I have more ideas and projects in store.
For german insights on personal development follow @beratung.kunst.entwicklung. For english content follow @cj.life.art.

Please feel free to leave me comments or a DM. I am happy to meet you!

Yours, Christine-Joahn