ECHO LDN 2026 - SALO SALO: Come Together (a British Filipino home)

Voice ESEA brings its 3rd annual interactive history exhibition to London’s OXO Tower, uncovering hidden British Filipino history & culture.
About this Event

Over the course of this week, expect:

• A photographic and soundscape archive- spanning Liverpool's 1800s Little Manila to today's London Filipino food scene through art, artefacts and interviews.

5 creative workshops (on archiving, language and regional textiles):

• Lunchtime (Thursday): Cooking workshop with Beloved Cucina- come and make mango float dessert during your lunchbreak + take whatever you don't scoff down back home in a ba-on box!
• Lunchtime (Friday): Drawing and Tagalog language workshop with Ainara, (@goddessbuwan). Participants will be prompted by picking out random words/ sentences from cups, forming their own mini stories that they will illustrate in a sequence. Inspired by Ainara’s background in Animation this is a great exercise to visualise short stories. Some words will be translated in tagalog e.g the eagle (agila) flew over the trees (puno). Perfect for kids, non-Filipinos, and anyone of the diaspora.
• Morning (Saturday): (For ages 10+) Paper weaving with textiles curator and researcher, Phoebe Singzon, inspired by the patterns and colours of Philippine and British heritage textiles.
• Afternoon (Saturday): for teenagers + adults - an introduction to the ancient script of Baybayin, led by John L Leyson, the graphic designer who has interpolated the 17 characters to make it easier to translate from Filipino to English, and learn English.
• Morning (Sunday): Personalise Filipino jewellery with Baybayin engravings, by Aking Sinta

3 panel discussions:

1. Afternoon (Saturday): Filipino artefacts… in the basement? A conversation with the Royal Geographic Society, Prof. Cristina Juan of SOAS, and Museum of the Home’s Lara Bacglin about the factors shaping exhibitions- who wants to see what, how do we wean those norms in, and what impact can we make by including these stories in the normal narrative?
2. Morning (Sunday): Discover Filipino artefacts and archives with The Royal Geographical Society - an introduction to the Filipino archives. Just as Voice ESEA and Chelsea Laylo are creating the first British Filipino archive through this project, this workshop will further engage the public in the lost art of investigating archives.
3. Afternoon (Sunday): The Filipino London food scene- where have we been, and what's coming next?: There’s 7,000+ islands in the Philippines but upcoming Filipino food culture in London is known for adobo, sinigang and ube flavoured drinks as if food culture is monolithic. What would need to change for Filipino restauranteurs in London to brand their food with the regional specificity that (as an example, Chinese) restaurants (Sichuan, Cantonese, Xi’anese, Taiwanese) have been able to make their USPs? What trends have they noticed in their audience? What’s worked and what hasn’t? A conversation about marketing food over the last decade - the drivers for change and the opportunity for innovation.

1 Film screening of Raging Grace (Evening, Saturday)

• You’ll be welcomed with a short experimental film ‘Sounds of a British-Filipino Household’ by mixed media director Gabby Lauren. A nostalgic soundscape inspired by her childhood experiences from the early 2000s. 
• Following the short film, we invite you to enjoy Raging Grace, introduced by the film's writer-director Paris Zarcilla. Raging Grace follows an undocumented Filipina immigrant who lands a job as a care-worker for a terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she's strived for and holds dear. 
• Please note: This event is suitable for 15+ only.
  

Shop, interlaced with the exhibition:

• Book shop curated by A Tree in Bani - focused on Filipino Britishness (non-fiction, but also fictional options for children + young families)
• Merch: copies of our illustrated maps on postcards and tea towels

Come hungry to learn.

Agenda
FREE exhibition

Info: From Wednesday 2nd to Monday 7th September, come and explore our exhibition delving into the richness and diversity of British Filipino history and culture curated by Voice ESEA and more than 50 Filipino volunteers.

🕑: 04:30 PM - 08:00 PM
Thursday 3rd September - opening night ceremony x ESEA Music
Host: ESEA Music

Info: Co-curated with ESEA Music, come together! to a night of British Filipino musical talent. The line up currently includes Muriel Gonzalez.

Thursday 3rd September - lunchtime cooking workshop

Info: Mango graham making (for young families) with Beloved's Cucina.

🕑: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Friday 4th September - lunchtime language and drawing workshop (Goddess Buwan)
Host: Ainara Basco

Info: Participants will be prompted by picking out random words/ sentences from cups(?) forming their own mini stories that they will illustrate in a sequence. Inspired by Ainara’s background in Animation this is a great exercise to visualise short stories. Some words will be translated in tagalog e.g the eagle (agila) flew over the trees (puno). Perfect for kids, non-Filipinos, and anyone of the diaspora. (Highlight examples of Filipino animators, illustrators, artists as a moodboard inspiration + introduce dynamic “camera” angles as a form of storytelling to 16+)

🕑: 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Saturday 5th September - lunchtime weaving workshop

Info: Paper weaving with Phoebe Singzon

🕑: 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Saturday 5th September - Baybayin GLOKAL: Language workshop
Host: John NL Leyson

Info: This one-hour masterclass begins with traditional Baybayin, before opening up to
something new. You will discover Baybayin GLOKAL, a future-forward evolution of
the script that adds the sounds modern and international names require, letting the
writing system travel the world without losing its roots.The workshop is headed by Baybayin Master John NL Leyson, a graduate of Fine Arts, Major in Visual Communication from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
He is a pioneer of Baybayin advocacy in Manila and London, and currently serves as
President of Baybayin Buhayin, Inc., the premier Baybayin advocacy organisation,
established in 2010. He is the author of Anatomya ng Baybayin (Anatomy of
Baybayin Script): Contribution to the Modern Study of the Philippine Scripts Through
Visual Explorations, published and released in London in late 2025, and the creator
and designer of Baybayin GLOKAL, developed in collaboration with Ric Patriarca.

🕑: 01:30 PM - 03:00 PM
Saturday 5th September - afternoon panel
Host: Chelsea Laylo

Info: Tech, language and archiving - what's next? With John NL Leyson and Dr Cristina Juan, hosted by Chelsea Laylo.

🕑: 05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Saturday 5th September - evening film screening of "Raging Grace"
Host: Gabby Lauren

Info: Join us for a community screening of British-Filipino, critically-acclaimed British Filipino thriller directed and co-written by Paris Zarcilla.

You’ll be welcomed with a short experimental film ‘Sounds of a British-Filipino Household’ by mixed media director Gabby Lauren. A nostalgic soundscape inspired by her childhood experiences from the early 2000s.

Following the short film, we invite you to enjoy Raging Grace, introduced by the film's writer-director Paris Zarcilla. Raging Grace follows an undocumented Filipina immigrant who lands a job as a care-worker for a terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she's strived for and holds dear.

Please note: This event is suitable for 15+ only.

🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
Sunday 6th September - morning creative workshop

Info: Baybayin engraving with Aking Sinta Jewellery.

🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Sunday 6th September - lunchtime panel
Host: Mel Legarda

Info: The London Filipino food scene - where'd it start and where is it going? Hosted by Mel Legarda of Eastern Hunnies, Mark from Adobros, Florence Mae from 1996 Group, and Roni B.