The thread that binds: Pio and Patsy Abad share how they continue Pacita’s legacy and advocacy

“Pacita’s exhibitions really expand your imagination and what’s possible,” Pio continues. “Just being able to witness her life as an artist helped me imagine my own life as one.”

The Turner Prize 2024 nominee tells Tatler that it was Pacita who encouraged him to set his sights overseas, as it was how she discovered her own creative voice. “I was already at UP Fine Arts when she helped me look through art schools in the US and the UK. Eventually, she introduced me to the Glasgow School of Art, which was how I ended up moving to Scotland at the age of 21. So, not only did she influence me, but she also partly orchestrated this life that I have now,” says Pio.

His sister Patsy shares the same impressions of Pacita. For her, her aunt was a larger-than-life figure with much flair and fabulousness. “She was ahead of her time: in the way she travelled the world, how she made art and the way she relentlessly navigated a male-dominated industry as a Filipina,” says Patsy. “The memory of her being so fearless, so unapologetically herself, always stuck with me. That same bold spirit is what I try to bring into my work and into the Fundacion today.”

Read more: Beyond the Hues and Shades: The kind and free-spirited soul of the late Pacita Abad

As the executive director of Fundacion Pacita, Patsy manages the day-to-day operations of the hotel with Ivatan-inspired rooms and suites set atop a lush hill that offers a vista of the scenic landscape and seascape of Batanes.

“She had this fearlessness in her that was backed by an incredible work ethic,” recalls Patsy. “She was large, daring and loud as the trapuntos she made, at the same time meticulous and deliberate as an artist when you look at the stitches at the back of her canvases. Beneath all the colour, cowrie shells and sequins, you could see how disciplined and organised she really was.”

Besides being a well-maintained bed-and-breakfast destination, the Fundacion carries Pacita’s artistic legacy through the pops of colour and intricate patterns in its interiors and decor. It also resembles a gallery with its eclectic collection of works in varied media, mostly by Pacita and other Filipino artists, established and emerging alike. Outside, Julie Lluch’s metallic sculpture of Pacita pensively looks at the romantic scenery.

One of Pio’s realisations about his aunt’s work, which came to him following Pacita’s 2023 retrospective exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is how it incredibly gathers communities, whether it’s their family or the Asian-American art community.

“Bringing these two communities together was for me one of the most gratifying experiences of my life because it brought all of my worlds together, in a way,” Pio says. “So, to read ‘family’ against a larger canvas of global art history has always been something that ties all of us together,” he adds.

This spirit of inclusivity in the art community and the pursuit of flourishing creative expressions are among the reasons that prompted the creation of Fundacion Pacita. Originally meant to be the artist’s studio, she instead spent her few remaining months in the house while battling her rapidly progressive lung cancer. “At that point, she was really unable to produce work,” recalls Pio.

“Before Auntie Pat passed away, it was already her wish for her home to become an artist’s haven, one that could support young Ivatan artists and contribute to the preservation of Ivatan heritage and culture,” explains Patsy. With Pacita’s passing, the family’s philanthropic arm named after her and her parents, Jorge and Aurora, was renamed and formalised into the Jorge, Aurora, and Pacita Abad Memorial Foundation. “Uncle Jack [Garrity], together with my dad and our aunts and uncles, decided to open Fundacion Pacita as a bed-and-breakfast with 100 per cent of its proceeds going toward conservation efforts and programmes for local artists,” she continues.

“What’s special about the place is that the proceeds go to helping young artists in Batanes, the development of vernacular architecture in the island, as well as the restoration of certain structures. Ultimately, it gives back to the Ivatan community, which has nurtured me, my aunt and our entire family,” adds Pio.

Over time, these programmes grew beyond the arts to include medical assistance, educational scholarships and broader forms of community support, reflecting values that mattered to Pacita. “Being Ivatan and having a strong sense of community were important to her, and that continues to guide the work we do at the Fundacion,” says Patsy.

Pacita is possibly one of the most collected Asian-American artists in US museums today. With around 5,000 works of art in varied forms and mediums, many of which still haven’t been seen publicly, Pacita’s artistry can now be appreciated permanently at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of New York and several more to come.

“In her works, you can see in each work how ecstatic she was in spending time with different communities across the globe. That, for me, has been a constant source of inspiration—that she wanted to embed herself amongst different people, experience their lives and make beautiful works of art from those journeys,” says Pio.

In his own career’s trajectory, Pio continues Pacita’s storytelling nature with his conceptual works, connecting histories among artefacts and objects. Starting off with fine ink drawings, he transforms his ideas into installation art, sculpture, augmented reality and even 3D-printed sculpture.

“The [Abad] family straddles between two worlds, art and politics. My work is a way of bringing those two together,” describes Pio, considering his recent exhibitions examining Philippine history in relation to global politics, and even his personal histories to larger social issues. “It’s important for people to have a different perspective on relevant issues because we’re always told about history in a certain way, or know some people moulding history to their own agenda, which can have really violent or destructive effects. So my work focuses on artefacts and finding aspects of Philippine history that haven’t really been shed light on.”

The call to uplift fellow artists also lives in Pio. Apart from assisting in Fundacion Pacita’s philanthropic efforts, he has also been organising the Gasworks Artist and Residency Programme since 2015. This nonprofit organisation facilitates international exchanges in London for emerging artists in their practice.

Drawing from Pacita’s impetus of interculturality in the arts, which is now predominant in Pio and his contemporaries’ practice, Pio believes in shedding light on the Filipino story on a global stage as it plays an important role in understanding larger events.

“To assert the history of the Philippines or the Filipino experience in contemporary art is asserting that kind of central role we actually play and have played for centuries,” says Pio. “As an artist, you have a certain license to do that.”

Atop the rolling hills of Batanes, Fundacion Pacita looks at the world with colourful lenses, hoping that the story and artistry of the Filipino people find its rightful place in the global landscape. Much like how the trapuntos wove the artistic journeys of the Abads, the Fundacion serves as its nexus.

“I hope it continues to preserve its charm while we thoughtfully expand its role in cultural conservation,” says Patsy, thinking of growing their support for local artists, strengthening heritage-based programmes, and developing initiatives that promote Ivatan knowledge systems, craftsmanship and storytelling. “We aim to deepen our impact in the community while honouring our traditions and, at the same time, welcoming change with utmost care and purpose,” she concludes.

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