BABAE: Meditations on the Divine
Opening Reception October 10, 2026
What does it mean to be Filipina across generations, cultures, and lived experiences?
BABAE: Meditations on the Divine is an intergenerational art show by mixed-media artist Reva Diana and her daughter, photographer Ava Diana. Through the stories of ten Filipinas and an intimate personal perspective, their work explores identity, womanhood, culture, and lived experience in Canada.
Growing up surrounded by religious art, I began to equate whiteness with holiness, greatness, and worthiness, which started me on the path of imposter syndrome. This series became part of my healing, placing brown women where they have been absent and honouring them through the shaped panels, gold nimbuses, egg tempera, and visual traditions of religious iconography. These women are powerful, worthy, and divine in their own right.
Each woman answered questions about her life, brought meaningful objects, and wore what made her feel powerful, shaping how she was represented in the work.
The first layer was drawn in white pastel over a black ground as a study of the figure and a way to understand its form. While it served as the underdrawing, it also became the skeleton of the painting, providing structure for every layer that followed.
The oil layer was difficult to begin because it meant covering and disrupting the careful pastel drawings of the Filipinas. I lived with the finished drawings for more than a week before I could bring myself to paint over them, trusting that their structure and presence would remain beneath the surface.
The egg tempera layer became a dance between preserving the abstraction and pulling out more detail. Egg tempera is a strange beast, unlike any paint I have used before. Because it dries almost instantly, blending on the surface is impossible, so the image is built through many transparent layers. It is a difficult and wonderful medium that gives the work a luminosity unlike any other.
This gallery will be updated after the show.
Join us on 5:30pm, October 10 at cSPACE Marda Loop 2nd Floor Hallway Gallery for the opening reception.
See the layered portraits and intimate photographs behind BABAE: Meditations on the Divine and meet the artists behind the art.
Supporting Workshop: The Colonial Gendering of the Filipinx
Dr. May Farrales leads this interactive workshop on how colonialism, migration, and gender have shaped Filipino, Filipina, and Filipinx identities. Through conversation, reflection, and collaborative art-making, participants will examine familiar stereotypes, explore gender diversity, and consider what Filipina/x identity can be on these lands.
This series is made possible by the generosity of Calgary Arts Development.
