Jay Albaos (1991) explores how migrants—workers, students of color, undocumented people—create place and selfhood in foreign environments. His method, artistic immersion, uses collaboration, participation, and dialogue to foster artistic creation and engage in migration (policy) contexts.
A former community worker together with Philippine Indigenous Peoples and a theatre performer, he later studied Live Art and Performance Studies in Helsinki and earned an advanced MA in Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies at KU Leuven.
He is now a doctoral candidate at LUCA School of Arts/KU Leuven while working full-time at Decathlon. His work entwines anthropology, ethnography, and performance – moving between solo pieces and (community) collaborations.
Born in Dipolog, Philippines, Jay is based in Gent, Belgium.
Photo Credit: Photo taken by Awa Gaye during the public performance piece Paningkamot Pagpadayon ang Paglupad (PPaP) // An Attempt to not Lose Flight: Segment 1