Ten years ago, she moved to Hong Kong to work as a nanny – now, Xyza Cruz Bacani is an acclaimed photographer whose work has been exhibited in New York, Pittsburgh, Macau and, most recently, Abu Dhabi.
Her story is one of inspiration and perseverance: after growing up in the poverty-stricken Philippine town of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, she went to Hong Kong in 2006, at the age of 19, in search of a better life. The eldest of three children, she hoped to earn money to fund her siblings’ education.
Bacani was interested in photography as a child, but it was a passion she could not pursue.
“Photography was something we could not afford,” she says. “The need to survive was greater than the need to do art.”
Being discovered
Five years after moving to Hong Kong, Bacani borrowed money from her employer – a 75-year-old woman with seven grandchildren – to purchase her first digital camera, a Nikon D90. She started shooting portraits of her mother, who was also working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong.
Soon, Bacani was taking photographs whenever she could– while running errands for her employer, buying produce each day in the market or roaming the city on her Sundays off work. Shot in grainy black and white, her snapshots captured small but vibrant moments in the chaotic streets of Hong Kong.
“The thing I like the most about street photography? It’s free,” she says with a laugh. “I shoot daily to relieve my stress. It’s my way of having fun.”
Rick Rocamora, a Filipino photographer in San Francisco, saw Bacani's photos on Facebook. Impressed, he forwarded them to the New York Times, which featured her in a 2014 story headlined "Taking Care of People and Pictures in Hong Kong".
“I thought she was one of those children of rich Filipinos living in Hong Kong, and all she does is go out and take pictures,” Rocamora reportedly said.
“He was really surprised when I told him what my job was,” Bacani says.
Working on a bigger scale
As word spread about her work, Bacani shifted her focus from street photography to documentary photography, covering the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests in Hong Kong, as well as abused domestic helpers that had sought shelter in a refuge in the city.
“I’m a migrant worker myself – and I’m in this privileged position to magnify their unheard voices,” Bacani says.
“We keep the Philippine economy afloat with the remittances we send to our families. We sacrifice for the future of our loved ones.”
Last year, Bacani was awarded a prestigious Magnum Foundation human rights scholarship to pursue a short course in photography at New York University. She no longer works as a nanny in Hong Kong, after her employer encouraged her to pursue her passion full-time.
She has since been working on multiple commissioned and personal projects involving refugees, impoverished Muslim communities in the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao and the human trafficking of domestic workers.
The hard work is paying off – she was recently cited by the BBC as one of the 100 Women of the World, as well as by Forbes in its list of 30 Under 30 Artists in Asia.
Her new Abu Dhabi project
Last month, Bacani came to Abu Dhabi for a week-long exhibition of her photographs at the Millennium Corniche Hotel, organised by the Philippine embassy.
She previously visited the UAE after winning fifth prize in the “Faces” category of last year’s Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award.
Now based in Manila, Bacani reveals she has been flying in and out of the Emirates to shoot a documentary project about overseas Filipino workers in the country, which was commissioned by New York University Abu Dhabi. Last October, she also conducted photography workshops for students at the university.
Details about the forthcoming documentary project are under wraps, but Bacani says she has fallen in love with the UAE.
“I’ve been going back and forth since last year – and I want to keep going more,” she says. “I like shooting there. The country is beautiful.”
• For more on Bacani's work, visit www.xyzacruzbacani.com
artslife@thenational.ae
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
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Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
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The five pillars of Islam
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How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona