In 2012, Maria was invited by Clara Balaguer (of Office of Culture and Design, Manila & Hardworking Goodlooking Press) to do a residency and collaboration in the Philippines where her nets were well received. Joining the Institute for Infinitely Small Things (Boston/Mass based) in Clara’s hometown of Zamboanga City, they worked with students of Western Mindanao State University to carry out a 6 day arts and activism workshop. Throughout the week students were encouraged to experiment with creative/political street performance and on the last day of the workshop, they decided to install one of Maria’s nets on campus.
Excerpt from the NCAA Blog about the rest of the trip
Traveling by plane to Manila, on tricycles and Jeepnies through Manila and other cities, then cars hurled through the mountains to the great rice terraces, we hardly put our knitting needles down. We were surprised to see so many gorgeous hoops throughout the countryside. Clara confirmed that basketball is huge there and that before elections, many politicians will fund the construction of huge complexes and courts, adding their names to the backboards to win favor.
Upon departure, Maria left a couple of nets behind with Clara. She installed one Cateel, Davao, just a month after Typhoon Pablo hit the region and another in at an arts festival in Bayung Mardika. See the narrative excerpt from the NCAA blog accompanying the photos below:
Celebrating a Filipino day of Independence in Mabalacat’s art-haven BAYUNG MARDIKA!
The NCAA is most proud and humbled by a recent Net Works manifestation made possible by frequent collaborators the Office of Culture and Design. You MUST READ the backstory that Clara shared when she decided to volunteer at an arts festival held on the land that now accommodates Sama D'Laut. Sama D'Laut translates to “sea gypsies” and refers to an indigenous tribe of displaced refugees who had to flee the southern Mindanao region, where coincidentally our previous NCAA Net Work was hung.
Now, an oddly land-locked people, they keep some traditions alive despite discrimination from nearby villagers. In June, they expressed community pride through an arts festival for which the OCD’s Kristian Henson designed the flyers above. We were unsure of how Sama D'Laut folks would react to a hand-made net work offering, but Clara brought a bright red MOLTENi Net Work along with her. This one was made from mason twine, plastic bags, and yarn. The community did not have a basketball hoop, so she went into the nearest town and fit the net to a lovely blue rim and brought it back with her. The village neighbors found a very resourceful solution, attaching the new rim to a repurposed palette as a backboard!
But then, of course, there was the issue of the mast (using seafaring terms, haha ) In order to finish off the hoop and test this net out, villagers decided to cut down a tree on which to erect the other assembled pieces.
We were amazed to see this gorgeous totem sculpted by a team of determined ballers being fully enjoyed. It’s hard to feel like our little plastic net deserved such a fuss but it’s evident that something very exciting and special happened that day. We are in awe of this strong, vibrant group of folks creating across the globe from us. We’re honored to have contributed the tiniest part of it. Typically Net Works attempt to fill a void, but in this case, an original sculpture was crafted by many people to support the net!
(one photo caption) Sama D'laut appropriate the MOLTEN logo in the true spirit of MOLTENi defiance. Mind Blown.
All photos courtesy of The Office of Culture and Design, Manila unless otherwise marked PinoyHoops!
