UKAI INITIATIVE
by Little Manila Queens Bayanihan ArtsAbout
PANAY BUKIDNON x UKAY x LITTLE MANILA FASHION PHOTOSHOOT by Marion Aguas
Queens, New York City, October 2024

Including behind-the-scenes photographs taken by Jaclyn Reyes


Inspired by Sugidanon—the epic chanting tradition of the Panay Bukidnon, an Indigenous people of Panay Island in the Philippines—this photo series reimagines tales of heroes, deities, and mythical creatures through contemporary forms. The portraits feature models of Filipino ancestry wearing ukay-ukay garments, each one embroidered with Panubok, the Panay Bukidnon’s traditional needlework, rooted in deep connections to the environment, belief systems, and ways of life.

Set against the urban landscapes of Little Manila, a Filipino community in NYC, the photographs weave together past and present, myth and material, gesture and garment. Through the act of stitching stories into secondhand clothing, these works honor the enduring presence of Indigenous creativity amidst modernization, waste streams, and global fashion systems. They also serve as a site of reclamation—where gender expression, queerness, and Filipino identity are affirmed through adornment, performance, and visibility. These images invite us to consider how cultural memory, personal identity and sustainability are continually rethreaded into new forms.

Interspersed in this photo series are black-and-white behind-the-scenes photographs taken by Jaclyn Reyes, capturing moments with the cast and crew. These images offer a glimpse into the collaborative process and community that shaped the making of the work.




This portrait was staged at Phil-Am Food Mart in Woodside, Queens—the oldest Filipino-owned business in New York City and a cornerstone of the community since 1976.