Ra’z Salvarita is a cross-disciplinary creative artivist who was born on the island province of Negros in the Philippines. His creative endeavors reflect the convergence of the three pillars he primarily works with: Creative Healing Expressions, Sustainable Sacred Ecology, and Practical, Mindful Spirit Vitality.
He has accumulated technical knowledge infused with integral quality of consciousness through his life’s work and experiences that makes him an ideal leader in arts and cultural development, community-art fieldworks particularly on art organizing, creative education and environmental campaigns, community social entrepreneurship projects, peace education, and natural resources management. His creativity and mentoring skills makes him an asset in organizations which he endeavors to help fulfill their goals for efficient, compassionate, and creative work lifestyle.
Ra’z was a fellow for the SEAΔ (South East Asia Delta) Arts Leaders program (2019-2020) of the Mekong Cultural Hub and the British Council – a “space for cultural practitioners to reflect on how their work in arts and culture can contribute to sustainable development within South East Asia through their individual and collective leadership.”
In October 2020, he received a “Small Grant: Staying Resilient Amid the Pandemic in South East Asia” by SEA Junction – an organization based in Bangkok, Thailand. It is to support his community-based arts workshops designed for women farm folks and the youth; a pioneer project through his small start-up social impact collective called “Baryo Balangaw Creative Initiatives and Open Studio”.
He is a current artist fellow for the following programme: Future Leaders Art Program (2020-2021 cohort) of the Australia Council of the Arts that is “dedicated to transforming our sector’s knowledge, skills and capabilities by supporting emerging arts leaders of diverse art forms from around Australia and the Indo-Pacific”; fellow with the “Arts for Good” program by the Singapore International Arts Foundation; and also a Teaching Artist fellow with the Teaching Artist in Asia Exchange Workshop sponsored by the Korea Arts & Cultural Education Service.
In addition, he is one of the five commissioned artists for the ITAC Impact: Climate project – a program by the International Teaching Artist Collaborative: it is the “pilot project for establishing a framework through which teaching artists can positively impact complex social issues. By demonstrating the power of a dedicated subgroup of teaching artists to raise awareness, educate others, and ultimately change minds and behaviour in relation to climate change, ITAC lays the groundwork for future collaborations between the arts and other sectors to create social change.”
He now lives on a farm field in Caninguan, Lambunao on the island of Panay – while calls Negros island his birth place where his creative roots originated. In the past two decades, he lived in Dumaguete – a place he considers a creative playground where he made significant contributions in the community’s environmental, arts, and cultural development. Furthermore, he also lived in an ashram for approximately five years in Ubud, Bali-Indonesia.
He completed a degree in Mass Communication with a Certificate in Environmental Journalism at Silliman University. In 2018, he presented a TEDx Talk on “Artivism: Effecting Environmental Consciousness through Art.”
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“… has continued to beguile us with an assortment of passions, never an art dabbler, always laser-like in the reasons for his current pursuits — but Raz is all pluralities.”
Ian Rosales Casocot, Creative Writer & Journalist
“…took on a solo crusade to help fight a bill of a congressman to reduce the area of the protected Lake Balinsasayao in Negros Oriental to half its original size… He shocked the sleepy university town of Dumaguete and landed in the national news after walking around town, stripped to his briefs, and coated with white paint – “to represent a blank future,” he explains the symbolism of his act.”
Nathalie Tomada, Assistant Entertainment Editor, Philippine Star
“Is this a magic show?” my nine year-old nephew, Onin, asked as he saw this barefoot, long haired, reed-thin guy in a linen floor-length gown chant words in a foreign language (Aramaic) as he set his linen rug on fire.”
aNesstajah, Blogger
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