Back-to-back Opening for Hibla, Opens in Bangkok and Prague

The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition has made its back-to-back inaugurations in Bangkok, Thailand and Prague, Czech Republic.

The National Museum of the Philippines, in partnership with the Office of Congresswoman Loren Legarda launched the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition titled Piña-Seda: Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Tropics at the Museum Siam, Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, July 4, and at the Naprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures, Prague, Czech Republic on Monday, July 15. The exhibit in Bangkok was launched in partnership with the National Discovery Museum Institute, while the one in Prague was done in partnership with the Naprstek Museum.

The exhibit in Bangkok, Thailand highlights piña-seda woven fabrics including those handwoven and embroidered by Balete, Aklan weavers Raquel Eliserio and Carlo Eliserio and Lumban, Laguna embroiderers Lolita Pereza and Loreto Maestre, Jr. Meanwhile, the exhibit in Prague features expert piña seda weavers from Tibiao Antique, and hand embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna.

“I am proud to witness the promotion of our local weaving traditions in the international community and to see that it is brought closer to the Filipinos abroad through our Hibla travelling exhibitions,” said Legarda.

“Our rich weaving heritage and traditional textiles are ties that bind. They link the past to the present and bring together cultures which, no matter how diverse, has a commonality. It is in this premise that the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino textile gallery was born in 2012 and now has gone international,” she added.

Legarda said that the travelling exhibition is an offshoot of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles permanent gallery at the National Museum of Anthropology, which is her brainchild. The first Hibla Travelling Exhibition was held in London in October 2017 and was subsequently opened in different Philippine Service Posts in Asia, Europe and United States of America, namely: Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Frankfurt, Germany; Washington, D.C.; New York City; Hawai’i; and Tokyo, Japan.

Bangkok, Thailand is the second Asian destination where the exhibition was launched, following its brief run in Tokyo, Japan in March. Prague, meanwhile, is the third destination of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition for 2019, and the tenth destination since it was first launched in London in October 2017.

The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition will run from 5 July to 27 July 2019 at the Museum Siam, 4 Sanam Chai Road, Khwaeng Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Khet Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand; and will run from 16 July to 12 August 2019 at the Naprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures, Bethlehem Square 1, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic.

“We will have more Hibla travelling exhibitions and many more Hibla regional galleries will soon rise in our country, and we hope that someday we will have not only galleries, but one whole Hibla Museum. Through these we hope to promote greater support for cultural enterprises and creative industries of our indigenous peoples and deeper appreciation of our heritage,” said Legarda.

About Hibla Textile Gallery

The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila is the country’s first permanent textile gallery. It is a project spearheaded by Congresswoman Loren Legarda.

During the soft opening of the gallery in March 2012, the National Museum also launched the Senator Loren Legarda Lecture Series on Philippine Traditional Textiles and Indigenous Knowledge, which explores the aesthetics, material culture and processes of ethnic identity along with skills and information-generation through fabric. It later evolved into interactive lectures and demonstrations featuring weavers and embroiderers from different parts of the country.

In July 2017, the National Museum launched the first Hibla regional gallery, the Abel Iloko at the Ilocos Regional Museum and Satellite Office in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, which was also supported by Legarda. In December 2018, the National Museum also launched the Habol Panay: the Woven Artistry of Western Visayas, a permanent textile gallery in the Visayas.

In October 2017, the first Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition was held at the Philippine Embassy in London.