Art of the Guardians Panel Talk at AAMG Virtual Convening

Jevijoe Vitug and I as Aban-guard along with poet Louisa Lam were part of Art of the Guardians presentation by Lambert Fernando and panel discussion for the 2023 Association of Academic Museums and Galleries Virtual Convening. Lambert’s presentation topic was about the art of Security Officers at the Met and their profound relationship they have formed with the collection, their experiences during the COVID 19 pandemic, and the art that they created during the lockdown. The art was later exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC in a exhibition titled: Art Work: Artists working at the Met, which opened for the first time to the public and was very well received garnering international press coverage including NBC Nightly News, Aljazeera TV and German ARD TV. I discussed how museum guards and staff can be a vital collaborative and educational resource in connecting with communities by sharing Abang-guard’s projects and our translations of museum spaces and objects.

Quiet Before - The Brown Vanguard

Quiet Before is a series of panels co-ordinated by Nancy Bulalacao that examines anti-Asian violence by “capturing history through conversation.” Recently the series featured artist Lambert Fernando, poet Louisa Lam, and Abang-guard (with me and Jevijoe Vitug) as we talk about our groundbreaking work inspired by being museum art guards and the community we have built along the way.

Art of the Guardians Panel Discussion at the Smithsonian

It was an honor to be a part of the “Art of the Guardians” panel discussion at the Smithsonian on Tuesday, October 18, as part of the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection. The session explored how creativity and a love for the art that guards protect enabled museum security personnel to respond to, endure, and recover from the most acute challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. Panelists from The Metropolitan Museum included my colleagues Lambert Fernando @lambfern, Jevijoe Vitug @jevijoe, Emilie Lemakis @emiliebunnyl, and Louisa Lam.

During the discussion I mentioned that what I've learned to value during this difficult time is the complex humanity of my colleagues who deserve respect and admiration beyond being a body in a uniform. We've learned to look out for each other more and care at a deeper level. We have learned that each of us have rich lives and artistic visions that is in itself an untapped living cultural asset within museums. Through their lived experience, museum workers’ provide a valuable educational source that would further inspire and connect visitors to the art within cultural institutions.