Flux Factory presented my solo exhibition Alagaan ang Salaysáy, which ran from October 4 - November 2, 2025. It was curated by Meghana Karnik and included performances from Cordillera Cultural Ensemble (CCE) and Kinding Sindaw.
Alagaan ang Salaysáy honors Filipino nurses in Queens, Brooklyn, and New York City. Drawing on the migration story sparked by the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and the 1970s nurse recruitment drives, Catbagan gathers oral histories from a community whose work has sustained the city’s healthcare system for decades. The words tita (aunt), ate (sister), and kuya (brother) recur—titles of care and respect that transcend bloodlines.
Visitors are invited to listen and read these stories vocally, transforming each into what Catbagan calls “a living monument of care.” In doing so, the exhibition turns listening into an act of devotion, infusing nurses’ labor into cultural memory.
Special thanks to New York Council on the Arts - 2025 NYSCA Fellowship and to the Filipino nurses who were generous with their stories.