4 minute read
Frans Regala
Abie Bungay
WRITTEN BY LOU DEL ROSARIO
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AS A versatile artist, magna cum laude Abie Bungay (4 BFA ID, Minor in Development Management) stays true to her belief that artists possess the capability to choose and decide who are included in spaces. “Space is political. Design has the ability to transform spaces— virtual or physical—and, in turn, dictate how these spaces are occupied,” Abie asserts.
While Abie dabbles in oil and acrylics, she has also expressed her passion in assemblage—the act of building entirely new pieces out of various items she has gathered. She also flaunts her skills in editorial, layout, and web design through her extracurricular activities and internships. Outside of her rigid schedule, Abie exercises her creative freedom through personal projects that hone her skills in illustration.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Abie’s penchant for arts bloomed with her knack for wrapping and designing notebooks. What began as a simple outlet for fun and expression has since become the opposite. “I actually realized that I am more of a pragmatic designer. I continue to design now because it’s tedious and arduous and it is not as not as fun as I used to think it is but in a good way,” Abie shares.
Despite the array of opportunities on her plate when it comes to arts and design, Abie fell in love with her program through her Philosophy and Theology subjects. These played a significant role in her formation as a designer by equipping her with technical skills outside of fine arts.
Coming into Ateneo, she found herself in a quicksand of worries—questioning her artistic skills as others were already adept in different design softwares. Since the bulk of artists’ craft is known to fall on the end product, Abie felt like her inclination towards organization and collaboration pushed her behind others. think about what her design is for and who she is designing for. “It doesn’t matter how good looking and visually compelling it is. If it’s not hitting a goal then it’s useless,” she adds.
However, as a designer who flourishes through collaborations, the onset of the lockdown brought by the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly shifted her routine and shuffled her priorities.
As a scholar for 16 years and a beneficiary of the Ateneo Alumni Scholars Association, Abie admits that the lack of safety net and the pressure to maintain her grades augmented feelings of.
Abie sought answers by exploring options outside of her program. Wanting to expand the horizons of her craft to social sciences, Abie immediately saw the Development Management program as a field that would equip her with the knowledge to further utilize her talent for various sectors.
“I don’t want naman to feel like it’s just something I want to do to prove [something]... na para lang (just to) to fill a void,” Abie shares. “If I choose something, I want to make sure that it’s also something I stand for.”
DESIGNING INCLUSIVE SPACES
Abie’s eye for design is rooted in her advocacy to open, design, and transform spaces to be more inclusive. “When we choose, we decide who gets to be included or not,” she explains.
This is the driving force behind her projects in sectors such as Sanggunian’s Commissions for Gender Equality, Mental Health, and Anti-Sexual Misconduct and Violence, as well organizations like EMPATH and Works of Heart Design Studio.
Through her involvement in these initiatives, Abie was able to contribute to design research for the Martial Law Museum, create interactive resources for students as a way to cope up with the pandemic, and design a children’s card game on financial literacy. Realizing that it is difficult for victims to draw the line as to when and how to respond, Abie conducted interviews and research within her barangay to probe on the problems that women experience when it comes to sexual violence. This eventually led to the creation of Haliling Hilom—a community theater kit that introduces and teaches first response techniques—for her thesis project.
ECHOING HER ARTISTIC VOICE
Through her exploration in information design and development management, Abie hopes to leave a mark by pursuing a career in government through the Department of Trade and Industry’s Design Center of the Philippines, which conducts design research, ideates product design, and creates products for Filipinos using local materials.
“As a designer in this program, I am super determined to be able to have a voice as a designer kasi it comes down to whom do we offer our time, to what advocacies do we choose to spend our talents, our skills on,” Abie affirms.
