My partnership with WAAP allowed me to connect with Wil on a personal level. Wil has given me the opportunity to go beyond my potential, I never knew that I had this potential in me and Wil brought it out by mentoring me and establishing connections through the gallery. He also taught me things that I have never learnt before, he even coached me in facing one of my greatest fears – public speaking.

Through all the challenges that occurred, I learnt a lot about Wil, we established a relationship far beyond just being colleagues, he is not only a mentor, but also became a close friend to me. As the director of WAAP gallery, Wil has always had a tight schedule where he has no time to even take a break, almost every 15 minutes he would have to rush off to do various tasks.

I remember him complimenting on my outfits and asked me where I usually purchase my clothes. I told him that most of my clothing do not have brands nor are do have a hefty price tag. Fashion has only been an area where I can express my personality, it also gives me a boost in self-esteem. I believe that Wil’s personality would shine brighter if he took the time to dress better, due to his busy schedule, he tends to neglect these sorts of trivial matters, as he often wears similar clothing, I believe that he is far more than what he showcases in his outfits. Therefore, this creative response is to show Wil and everyone else that even fashion, such minuscule function can play a significant role in someones life.

Clothing contains a piece of one’s identity, creating a lasting and unique impression of each individual. I believe that one’s style reveals aspects of their personality, after getting to know Wil and more about him, I wanted a way for others to see his personality through his style and choice in clothing. Therefore, for this assignment I created a package consisting of outfits that Wil can mix and match that creates style that suits his palate. These outfits that I chose for Wil are in a minimalistic diverse design, yet versatile for him to attend different occasions and events.

I chose to wrap the package with a pine cone patterned wrapping paper due to its similar shape with the pineal gland in the brain, it serves as a symbolic representation of human enlightenment. Therefore,  in a sense, this package is wrapped with “knowledge”. This is also a way for me to show Wil my gratitude for all the knowledge that he has passed on to me, which I am forever grateful for. After this partnership, I will continue seeking knowledge from Wil through our friendship and strong bonds.

*The course blog claims that I have “used all of [my] storage quota of 500MB”. Therefore, this is the only photo that I was able to upload.

Will Aballe Art Projects l WAAP Handout

My partnership with Wil Aballe Art Projects (WAAP) consists me of doing certain curatorial tasks. My duties would range from pitching the artist(s) to various art institutions for an exhibition to finessing the artist statements for the artist. Despite not having much experience towards these roles, Wil manages to offer clear and precise instructions in order for me to thoroughly maneuver these tasks.

My initial meeting with Wil Aballe was done in person, we went over the availability and how many hours we’re required to work. As most of my duties do not require me to be present in the gallery, I can do them in the comfort of my own home. However, as a student in this partnership we are only supposed to work for around 50 hours throughout the entire semester, it would be difficult to calculate the hours of me working at home, as I tend to spend a couple hours here and there and do some other stuff, then return to the assigned task(s). Therefore, I thought that it would be wise to just do the work on the tasks assigned to me at the gallery when I work, this way it would be a lot easier for the both of us to figure out the hours, since I would spend about 5 hours each week at the gallery.

The tasks that were assigned to me did not come with a deadline, which I think that is great, because it eases off a lot of pressure. However, I personally prefer a more structured schedule, as I could plan when each assignment or task I should tackle first or if there is anything that I should prioritize.

As we mostly work alone at the gallery, Wil created a text messaging group for Olivia and I to communicate with him if we were to bump into any problems or concerns during the time of our work. On the other hand, our tasks and assignments would be given out to us via email as Wil tends to attach documents, either for further clarification or for reference.

So far, I have not received much feedback on my work. As mentioned previously, I do not have much experience in this field, which is the more reason why I think having feedback is important. I believe that with his feedback I would be able to learn faster would be able to fix any ongoing mistakes that I might have. Other than that, I would also like to have some sort of feedback on my performance at WAAP, I would like to see what Wil thinks of my overall commitment at the gallery. I would like to know things such as whether my outfits are too casual, if my cologne is too strong, or maybe if my service is not up to par. I feel that all these aspects of presenting myself towards others are crucial, especially in a commercial art gallery setting where I’m exposed to a lot of important people.

I did not expect for me to enjoy this partnership as much as I am now, I have never had this much “fun” while working in the past. However, I think that there is one thing that could still be changed regarding this partnership, I know that it sounds impossible, but I hope to not only do curatorial task, but rather to learn how to do everything in order for me to become a well-rounded person when I delve into the field of art.