Focus on Arkadia Collective | Women of Mindanao Art – Meling Abuga-a, Adeva Kalidas & Arkyoo Quirante
My connection with Arkadia Collective goes back to our earlier collaboration, when we exhibited their work at our café—a space that has since closed, but left behind strong creative memories. That experience introduced me to their vision and the way they carry art into community life.
This portrait session felt like a continuation of that story. I wanted to create images that highlight who they are as artists today: voices that continue to shape the cultural landscape of Cagayan de Oro and Mindanao.
The approach was simple—clean light, a neutral backdrop, and the freedom for each of them to inhabit the space authentically.
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Arkadia Collective: A Shared Vision
Arkadia is a community in motion. They create across disciplines—poetry readings, gallery shows, concerts, and collaborative installations. Each member brings her own strength, but together they embody a chorus of creativity that makes Mindanao’s art scene richer and more visible.
Their mission is simple but powerful: to show that art belongs everywhere—in galleries, cafés, classrooms, music stages, and everyday spaces. By doing so, Arkadia challenges what an artist “should be” and opens the door for new voices, especially women, to step forward.
Meling Abuga-a
An international fine artist, Meling moves between painting, mixed media, and digital art. Her work often plays with the tension between serenity and chaos, memory and imagination. In front of the camera she brought the same quiet strength and honesty that runs through her practice
Adeva Jane Esparrago Kalidas
A writer, poet, and educator, Adeva blends words and images into layered storytelling. She teaches, writes, and paints, each medium feeding the other. Her presence carried that same duality—soft and fierce, grounded in both intellect and emotion.
Arkyoo Quirante
A fine artist and lead singer of the band Analog, Arkyoo bridges the visual and the sonic. Her portraits reveal a performer’s energy, tempered by the intimacy of a painter’s gaze. She embodies Arkadia’s spirit of crossing boundaries and finding art in every form.