Press Release

PHOTO RELEASE NO. 05-2022

"Beautiful Diaspora / You Are Not The Lesser Part" Photo Exhbit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago featuring acclaimed Filipino photography Xyza Cruz Bacani

Chicago, 07 March 2022 – Acclaimed Filipino photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani is one of the featured artists in the photo exhibit “Beautiful Diaspora / You Are Not The Lesser Part” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) in Chicago. This photo exhibit, which will run from 03 March to 26 June 2022, brings together fifteen (15) global artists of color who together challenge notions of global segregation and dividing lines.

Ms. Bacani was born in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines in 1987. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she migrated to Hong Kong in 2006 to work as a household service worker. While in Hong Kong, she started taking photography as a hobby and this decision eventually took her to the United States in 2015. She currently lives in New York with her husband and is finishing her Master of Arts in Arts Politics at New York University.

Since 2014, Ms. Bacani has participated in solo and group exhibits in the Philippines, Thailand, China, US, UK and UAE. Among her many awards and citations, she was named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women of the World 2015, 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2016, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2016, Fujifilm ambassador and author of the book “We Are Like Air.” For her achievements, the Philippine House of Representatives passed a resolution in her honor, House Resolution No. 1969.

While in Chicago, Ms. Bacani paid a courtesy call on Consul General J. Susana V. Paez at the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago on 03 March 2022, together with her husband and the officers of the Zamboanga Del Norte Association of Illinois (ZAMNAI). During the call, she presented the Consul General with a copy of her book.

Consul General Paez congratulated Ms. Bacani for her success as a migrant worker and photographer, and wished her all the best in her future endeavors. The Consul General also stated that the Consulate looks forward to working with her in the near future.