Kristian Kabuay

San Francisco, California, United States
Filipino artist Kristian Kabuay spent his college years in the Philippines where he honed his knowledge about the native ancient writing system, Baybayin. Kristian is a self-taught artist influenced by calligraphy, graffiti, abstract art, indigenous culture, technology, and Asian writing systems. As a leading authority for the propagation and instruction of the Philippine script, he developed a modern performance style of the writing system called Tulang Kalis (Poetry of the Sword) and introduced it as Filipino Calligraphy with a series of live demonstrations and lectures at the Asian Art Museum in October 2012. He has spoken at numerous schools and institutions such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, SF State University, UC Davis, Sonoma State, University of the Philippines, National Anthropology Museum of Madrid, and the San Francisco Philippine Consulate. Currently based in San Francisco, Kristian has been tirelessly advocating a reawakening of the indigenous spirit through decolonization and Baybayin. Conscious about the role he plays, Kristian launched his own company around the script specializing in custom art, translations, books, and apparel. This lead to collaborations with t-shirt, hat, and skateboard companies. Kristian just completed a European tour of Paris, Madrid, London, and Brussels in July 2013 and just published his 2nd book, "Writing of the Soul".