Fifth Hibla Travelling Exhibition Opens in New York, Legarda Elated

Senator Legarda has expressed her elation over the success abroad of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition as the fifth exhibit opens today in New York.

Legarda said that the travelling exhibitions are offshoots of the National Museum’s Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles gallery, which is her brainchild. The first Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition was held in London in October 2017, and has since opened in several parts of the world, such as Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; and Washington, D.C.

“We have a very rich weaving heritage which we are able to show through the Hibla gallery and the weaving lectures and demonstrations at the National Museum, but we also want to bring it to a wider audience and to Filipinos living abroad,” she said.

The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition in New York titled, “Piña-Seda: Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Tropics,” was organized by the National Museum of the Philippines, the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the Philippine Consulate General in New York.

Part of the exhibition are lectures, weaving and embroidery demonstrations and workshops by Ursulita Dela Cruz and Rhodora Sulangi, piña-seda weavers from Kalibo, Aklan, and Lilian Teresita del Valle and Joan Monedo, piña-seda embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna.

“The Hibla gallery at the National Museum, the weaving lectures and demonstrations, and this Hibla travelling exhibit are efforts to celebrate indigenous artistry through textiles, provide more Filipinos the opportunity to discover priceless information about our heritage, and bring the challenge of nurturing our weaving traditions into the national stage, to a wider audience,” said Legarda.

The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition will run from July 23 to September 7, 2018 at the Philippine Center, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York.

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

“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.***