The Hymn of Leaves author Katrina Macapagal on history and songs in dark times

On July 25, 2026, an Artist Reception was held in the UP Fine Arts Gallery for a three-part exhibition—Playgrounds, an Art 4 Development show, Sa Dulo ng Hinahon, a solo exhibition featuring Brian Barrios, and The Hymn of Leaves, an exhibition and book launch.

The Hymn of Leaves author, Katrina Macapagal, sent us a message of hope all the way from the United Kingdom, which was read by the UP Fine Arts Gallery curator, Lisa Ito, during the program.

“When CANVAS’ call for entries for a children’s story based on Chad’s painting, Sipol, came out in late 2022, the Philippines was just a few months into Bong Bong Marcos’ presidency. Like many Filipinos, I was in complete shock and disbelief over the return of the Marcoses into power. One of the things I heard myself and other people asking was the question: “How will we explain this to our children?”

This question felt more pressing to me then, given my personal circumstances. I was a diasporic Filipino citizen, unable to fully process and contend with the devastating political situation in my home country, precisely because of my physical removal from it. More importantly, I was a new parent to a child who was just over a year old. I was determined to raise a mixed-heritage child who will be proud to learn about and connect with her Filipino roots. So the broad political question, “How will we explain this to our children?”, to me, became incredibly resonant at a time of new and intense parental guilt.

And so it was during this time of what I perceived as our failure as adults that I was able to write the story of “The Hymn of Leaves.” In Chad’s moving artwork, Sipol, I saw the children as protective figures surrounding the elderly woman who carries the weight of history. The children are the ones who are able to protect the figure who dares sing through dark times through the hymn of leaves.

I am very proud of this book and would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Chad for showing the utmost care and commitment to bringing this story to life. I am in awe of your artworks –– warm, tender, almost elemental images that are able to locate the story firmly in our country, while also lending themselves to similar stories of dark times happening elsewhere. Thank you, CANVAS, for providing this opportunity for me to write this story, and to Maria Antonio for capturing the Tagalog equivalent of the story with cultural sensitivity and nuance.

Of course, a children’s story like this won’t be enough to explain the complexities of history and how kings and mad men are able to get away with unabashed cruelty and impunity. But my hope is, at the very least, we can use a story like this as a way to explain to our children how we can keep on singing through the dark times. The metaphor of song in “The Hymn of Leaves,” I hope, is a powerful one. In the words of Bertolt Brecht:

In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.

Congratulations, Chad and CANVAS! I can’t wait to read this book with my daughter and share it with my family and friends here in Edinburgh.”