Living, Teaching, Researching - An American Artist's Experience of the Middle East was a presentation of how I lived and what I had to endure as an American female in an Arab country. I showed my travels in Egypt and Lebanon and share experiences and my perceptions of the surrounding wars and their effects while residing in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan during 2008-2010. I introduced cultural and religious customs and how these beliefs influenced my ideas for the work. The information was based on various written articles, my research and live interviews of thirteen female migrant domestic laborers from the Philippines, "The Runaway Maids," and from my own experiences as a Filipina American professional and artist living in the Middle East. My perceptions and the realities of living in a predominately Muslim country have changed me as an artist and continues to influence the artistic process in different and more interesting levels conceptually.
