Multicultural Artist Spotlight: Bren Bataclan
Gathering around the campfire is an opportunity to exchange stories and pass on knowledge about the things we love.
In this feature we share our campfire with an amazing Filipino artist based in Boston.
BREN BATACLAN
Bren Bataclan is a Boston-based artist. He was born in the Philippines and grew up in Daly City/Bay Area, CA. Prior to becoming a full time artist, Bren taught design and computer animation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Boston Museum School.
In the early 2000s, Bren began giving away paintings in public spaces with a note saying, "This painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often." Since then, he has given away over 3,000 paintings in close to 80 different countries and to all 50 states in the U.S. The cartoon-like characters Bren draws are inspired by his days watching "Giant Robot" anime shows when he was a kid in Manila. In 2017, he gave a TEDxTalk about his street art project.
Bren now goes beyond his painting giveaways. He currently delves deeper into his Filipino culture, both personally and politically. His newer works deal with his immigration experience.
To learn more about Bren, visit his webpage, www.bataclan.com
“I like to make people smile—that's why I give away acrylic paintings with whimsical characters. I explore Filipino-related subjects in my more personal work. Expressing my cultural background through my artwork is one of my passions."
- Bren Bataclan
We recently worked with Bren on our Filipino Storytime Seattle Tagu-taguan session and he was kind enough to give us some lovely drawings of Filipino insects for your kids to color and explore.
We hope these can Spark! conversations about the amazing world of insects and Spark! curiosity in your kids about themselves and the world around them.
