17 September 2019 – In collaboration with the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), the Office of Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and the Textile and Fashion Federation Singapore (TaFF), the Philippine Embassy in Singapore successfully organized the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Traveling Exhibition: Pina-Seda (Pineapple Silk Cloths from the Tropics).
Singapore is the 11th stop in the Hibla Exhibition’s international tour and the last one in Asia for this year. Since 2017, the exhibition has been to London, Lisbon, Madrid, Frankfurt, Washington, DC, New York, Hawaii, Tokyo, Bangkok, Prague and San Francisco.
The Hibla Exhibition, which will run until 06 October 2019 at NAFA’s Lim Hak Tai Gallery, showcases the Philippines’ traditional textiles, namely the Pina-Seda, while celebrating the country’s indigenous artistry and heritage.
The event also forms part of the 50th anniversary this year of the establishment of PH-SG diplomatic relations.
Aside from the exhibition materials on display at the Lim Hak Tai Gallery, demonstrations, lectures, and workshops were conducted by experts from NMP, embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna, and weavers from Balete, Aklan to make it a more interactive and hands-on educational experience for the public.
The official launch of the exhibit on 29 August 2019 was graced by Dr. Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador (NMP Deputy Director General), Consul General Adrian Bernie C. Candolada, Dr. Bridget Tracy Tan (Director, NAFA Institute of Southeast Asian Arts and Art Galleries), and Ms. Pia Jane Hermora (representative of Deputy Speaker Legarda).
TaFF then hosted an embroidery workshop and networking event on 30 August 2019 at the Cocoon Space that was attended by members of TaFF from Singapore’s fashion and textile industry, as well as members of the Filipino community. The networking event even showcased a live demonstration of the scraping of a pineapple leaf to show how the fibers are collected to produce a pina-seda fabric.
Ambassador Joseph Del Mar Yap also hosted a special showcase for the diplomatic corps at the Lim Hak Tai Gallery on 04 September 2019, where guests were given a guided tour and demonstrations of the weaving and embroidery followed by a simple reception.
NAFA also hosted several lectures, workshops and demonstrations for its students from various disciplines, including fashion and interior design. END
