The funny thing about Roseli and I, is we actually have never "met." What I mean by that is we have never been in the same physical space together: we met over a year ago through working at Eventbrite (more below) and while I see her multiple times a week, worked on countless projects, have spoken to her children, and shared stories of being working mothers and artists, we have yet to sit next to each other. I consider Roseli not just my colleague but my friend which is what is amazing about the internet. You can find intimacy and friendship even without inhabiting the same room (what is a room now anyhow?). When I do see her I definitely am going to order a fancy beverage and block off time to just sit together. Without further ado...
Roseli Ilano is a mother, gardener, a former community organizer and educator, who has spent the past decade with a focus on using storytelling to bring people together. She is the founder of ILANO, a material textile experiment that explores weaving and natural dyes in partnership with women-led worker cooperatives in Mexico and the Philippines. By day, she is Head of Community at Eventbrite, supporting event organizers to grow as entrepreneurs and bring the world back together through the power of live experiences.
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My new project that I’m incubating with some curator and designer friends is Bittermelon Magazine. We started right before the pandemic and had to put a pin in the project. But I’m hopeful that 2023 is the year we get it off the ground. The concept is an editorial and beautifully designed monthly newsletter and eventually a bi-yearly print publication. We’ll explore the many ways Filipino migrant culture transforms art and design around the world. Our work centers migrants as potent and influential sources of culture. It will come to life through Interviews, image portfolios, reviews, film, audio, and photography to provide a nuanced perspective into the intimate spaces and public landscapes being shaped by a new Philippine aesthetic.
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I’m based in Oakland, California and support Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an indigenous, woman-led land trust that facilitates the rematriation of land to indigenous people. My family pays the Shuumi land tax, a voluntary annual contribution for non-Indigenous people living on traditional Lisjan Ohlone territory.
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roseli's film of the week
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is one of the most inspiring filmmakers working today. I’m drawn to the sincerity and dreamlike quality of his work. In describing the spirit that animates his films, he says:
“Imagine if it were possible to keep alive all the people you ever loved. If there was a way that your most sacred memories, treasures, the places you saw and the feelings you had could never die —but be reincarnated by an endless cycle of dreams.”
This quote so elegantly captures why Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a film I return to again and again even though it was made more than a decade ago. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010, and now The Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley is presenting a retrospective of Weerasethakul’s films through May 12. You can also watch it on demand on all the streaming platforms.
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roseli's song of the week
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Parachute by Thee Lakesiders
I grew up in Southern Califronia listening to lowrider oldies and dedications on the radio every Sunday night on Art Laboe’s Killer Oldies show. This song makes me nostalgic for those Sunday nights. So much restraint and yearning in this song. My husband gave me the 45” single as a gift.
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roseli's article of the week
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The new issue of Apartamento just came out featuring an interview with Solange Knowles. I moved around quite a bit as a kid (6 places before the age of 10), and could really relate to her sharing how decorating spaces, especially interiors, could be an outlet for creating control in an otherwise nomadic life. It’s almost like set design, I find joy in the creative challenge of making a space feel special and warm, where every object is considered and brings joy. Before we had kids, I had a pick-up truck and every week I would come home with new furniture and random beautiful objects that I would find left out on the sidewalk, or buy at thirft stores. My husband had to have an intervention because I was becoming a hoarder!
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roseli's food of the week
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Rancho Gordo Beans, always! My kids are basically made out of rice and beans. It’s the only thing I can get them to eat.
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Here’s my daughter Nayeli and a Dahlia. I’m taking notes from these two on how to blossom.
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and a few picks from push...
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i have a really complicated love affair with California but this is one of the alluring qualities that always wins my heart.
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eating through the south bay
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spending a lot of time in the south bay where my mom lives and where i went to high school. i found these gems on eater.
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love love love artist clover robin's collage rendition of a west coast road trip. are you sensing a theme?
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Surfer and photographer Gabriella Angotti-Jones has an amazing documentation of women and non-binary surfers you've got to check out.
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you're going to love the colorful, trippy world of Angela Kirkwood, featured on it's nice that.
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we hope you are staying warm and that you enjoyed another installment of push picks. as always, if you like what you read, forward it to someone or encourage them to sign up. it would mean the world to us 🌎
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