Hibla Goes Big, Back-to Back Launches in Madrid and Washington DC

Senator Loren Legarda today expressed her support for the back-to-back launches of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition at the Philippine Embassies in Madrid, Spain and Washington D.C., USA.

Legarda said that these exhibits are offshoots of the National Museum’s Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles gallery, which is her brainchild. The inaugural launch of Hibla Travelling Exhibition was held in London in October 2017.

“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 Madrid, Spain titled, “Piña-Seda: Pineapple and Silk Cloth from the Tropics” was organized by the National Museum of the Philippines, the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, the Local Governments of Kalibo, Aklan and Lumban, Laguna, in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, Spain and the Real Fabrica de Tapices.  Meanwhile, the Exhibition in Washington, DC was organized by the National Museum of the Philippines, the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, the Local Governments of Kalibo, Aklan and Lumban, Laguna, in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC.

Lectures, weaving and embroidery demonstrations and workshops by Anna India Dela Cruz and Nelia Rogano, piña-seda weavers from Kalibo, Aklan, and Marilyn Tobias and Magdalena Rosales, piña-seda embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna were held in Madrid, Spain. On the other hand, the exhibit in Washington featured weavers Ursulita Dela Cruz and Rhodora Sulangi from Kalibo, Aklan; and embroiderers Lilian Teresita Valle and Joan Monedo from Lumban, Laguna.

“The Hibla gallery mounted at the National Museum, the weaving lectures and demonstrations, and these Hibla travelling exhibits 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 global scene, bring it to a wider audience,” said Legarda.

Exhibition viewing for the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition in Madrid, Spain is housed at the Real Fabrica de Tapices, and will run from May 24 to June 21, 2018. The Hiblaexhibit in Washington DC is located at the Chancery Annex of the Philippine Embassy, Bataan Street cor. 1600 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC, and will run from June 11 to July 16, 2018.

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 explored 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 Hibla Iloko at the National Museum Ilocos Regional Museum Complex in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, which was also supported by Senator Legarda.

In October 2017, the first Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Travelling Exhibition was held at the Philippine Embassy in London, United Kingdom in October 2017. It had a subsequent launch in Lisbon, Portugal in March 2018.

“We will have more Hibla travelling exhibitions and  more Hibla regional galleries will soon be organized in the 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.