My Story

Intro

The notion of art has often been tied to elitism. The perception that art has remained detached from the common people is unfortunately fueled by an artificialclassification of particular works and forms of art, such as operas and expensive galleries, as "high art," as opposed to "low art": what people may deridingly refer to as "cheap or jologs in the Philippines". This misconception is what the YAFE hopes to address, by using art, in all its forms, to empower the community in advocating environmental awareness.

About Me

I am Laiden Pedriña, economics graduate from University of the Philippines-Diliman. In 2003 I founded YAFE and now serve as its adviser and active artistic director.

I am very passionate about environmental and social issues. I believe that environmental issues are not stand-alone issues. I actually believe that loving the environment is about recognizing that every living thing has the rights to live in dignity. So I make sure that I also understand the issues and struggles of the marginalized because they are usually the first casualties of environmental degradation, and over-consumption of other people. The environment and human rights of indigenous people, for instance, are greatly abused because we consume more than what we need. We must be cautious and ethical in our purchases, and consumption patterns.

I became a social entrepreneur and started YAFE because development works is really my passion, and I had to explore how I could help others by focusing on my strength. I love teaching art workshops because I used to be part of a mobile theater, and therefore I want to use arts as the platform for social advocacies. I believe that everyone has a natural capacity to create and recreate novel ideas. Creativity is the foundation of the arts. Yet, the sad thing is that for years, the arts have seemingly become a commodity to be admired from afar, a highfalutin notion reserved for the intellectuals and privileged few. When I graduated in college in 2001, I realized that I had time for socio-civic works giving free art lessons to indigent communities in our province. I wanted to give them the opportunity I did not receive as a young girl when my family did not have enough money that time to enroll me in arts workshops.

My parents are my greatest influence. My mother is a successful entrepreneur, I’ve seen how she, with the support of my father, worked hard to make our life comfortable. My father is a public servant; I have seen his passion to serve the community. My mother taught me to help myself. During my precociously idealistic moments, my father stood by my side. It was my father who taught me to help others.

My Venture

YAFE is a community-based organization. It is 100% run by volunteers. We are group of young artists who use arts as the platform for environmental advocacies and actions. Our members are either students, out-of-school youth or young professionals. We teach Enviro-Art Workshop, an integration of arts and environment workshop to youth across social classes. We paint murals to lobby a particular cause. We perform theater plays, or conduct an art exhibit for a particular social issue. We also have eco-livelihood projects for the community.

When I graduated in college in 2001, I just wanted to teach free art workshops every Saturday because I felt that arts are always perceived as elite past time. Talented kids who come from low-income families will not enroll to arts workshops because it is expensive. So I asked my friends to help me organize a regular arts workshop. From 2001 to 2003, our group was very informal and we did not have any name. Until in the latter part of 2003 when I, together with my friends, formally started YAFE to ensure the sustainability of what we have been doing.

Through our projects, we recognize that art is dynamic, it is changing - that indigenous and popular arts are both important; art is ideological domain –it is a platform of social advocacy that is empowering, enabling and critical; and art is concrete and lived –it can help people in their day-to-day lives.

Eventually, we want to see YAFE continuing its advocacies and programs for years to come. We want to help more youth, and we want to learn more from different communities.