The Script
Baybayin is a pre-Filipino writing system from the islands known as the “Philippines”. Baybayin comes from the word “baybay”, which literally means “spell”. See Baybayin.com for more info.
Who
Kristian Kabuay was born in the Philippines and
raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He spent his college years in the
Philippines where he honed his knowledge about the native ancient
writing system, Baybayin. Kristian is a self-taught artist influenced by
calligraphy, graffiti, abstract art, indigenous culture, technology and
Asian writing systems.
As a leading authority for the propagation and instruction of the Philippine script, he developed a modern performance style of the writing system called Tulang Kalis (Poetry of the Sword) and introduced it as Filipino Calligraphy with a series of live demonstrations and lectures at the Asian Art Museum in October 2012. He has spoken at numerous schools and institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, SF State University, UC Davis, Sonoma State, University of the Philippines, National Anthropology Museum of Madrid, and the San Francisco Philippine Consulate.
Currently based in San Francisco, Kristian has been tirelessly advocating a reawakening of the indigenous spirit through decolonization and Baybayin. Conscious about the role he plays, Kristian launched his own company around the script specializing custom art, translations, books and apparel. This lead to collaborations with t-shirt, hat and skateboard companies. Kristian just completed a European tour of Paris, Madrid, London and Brussels in July, 2013 and is currently working on a documentary.
As a leading authority for the propagation and instruction of the Philippine script, he developed a modern performance style of the writing system called Tulang Kalis (Poetry of the Sword) and introduced it as Filipino Calligraphy with a series of live demonstrations and lectures at the Asian Art Museum in October 2012. He has spoken at numerous schools and institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, SF State University, UC Davis, Sonoma State, University of the Philippines, National Anthropology Museum of Madrid, and the San Francisco Philippine Consulate.
Currently based in San Francisco, Kristian has been tirelessly advocating a reawakening of the indigenous spirit through decolonization and Baybayin. Conscious about the role he plays, Kristian launched his own company around the script specializing custom art, translations, books and apparel. This lead to collaborations with t-shirt, hat and skateboard companies. Kristian just completed a European tour of Paris, Madrid, London and Brussels in July, 2013 and is currently working on a documentary.
