Message from the Editor:

Mabuhay and Welcome to the first edition of Art in Site e-zine; for, by and about all Filipino artists. The editorial staff of AIS hopes that you will enjoy and benefit from browsing through the main sections: the arts featuring Filipino artistic talent at its best, brilliant writers voicing their minds and putting it all together in literature and keeping our culture alive with particular focus on traditions, ethnic tribes, historical landmarks and most of all, the nourishment of the Filipino soul.
Speak your mind, vent or use the Fix (it!) department to let loose that creative energy, view the art gallery, help us raise money to support our dwindling ethnic tribes in their efforts to farm and build homes by buying their arts and crafts on line. Advertise yourself and your art, discover roads definitely less traveled. All that and more.

And now: Here’s the story of us . . .

A couple of years ago, before the sad business of the global economy crashing down on all the movers and shakers, a handful of Filipino artists and writers from the Philippines and the U.S. decided to revive a great idea that had been tried before and failed.

“Why not create a center that will provide much needed support for our Filipino artists and keep our cultural heritage alive?” they asked.

But no one was rich enough to underwrite the project, so grant proposals were written. While they waited for funding, the project took form to publish a magazine to support, promote and showcase Filipino culture and the arts.
The aspiring editor scouted around for possible donors.  After a long search, an art lover came through and provided the necessary funds. The editorial staff was formed and things moved forward quickly, that is, until the rug was pulled from under their feet. They received word that funding had been frozen due to the downward turn of the economy in the land of plenty across the sea.

There’s a lot of gloom and doom in the world these days. Chicken Little is out there shaking her feathers and clucking that the sky is falling! She’s in good company with the boy who cried wolf! Together these two fairy tale characters are instilling a whole lot of anxiety — in our lives and our heads.

So there we were, left holding the proverbial bag. A staff made up of artists need to be paid for their time and talent, but so do creditors. Downsizing was inevitable and we were anxious but hopeful during the successful launch of the magazine.
It was either throw in the towel or stick it out. The few remaining staff opted for the latter, but it’s been a struggle.
Now we’re back with the launch of Art in Site’s e-zine. We don’t know when volume II of the print publication will come out, but we deeply hope for a turn for the better.

The story doesn’t have an ending. We still have one creditor banging on our door to get paid, but we’re working things out. Our spirits are once again ready and willing. We just needed to get our bearings back. Meanwhile, the e-zine will link us all.
It will keep us hopeful and stir the creative juices until we burst into multitudes of brilliant light pointing in every direction of the stratosphere. So, stay tuned . . .

Note: Please bear with us while our overburdened, working-for-free creative minds are striving to create and produce a bang-up job of populating and tweaking the pages of AIS’ e-zine.