Legarda Leads Inauguration of Phl’s First Textile Galleries

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA WILL LEAD TODAY (MAY 18, AT 6:00 PM) THE FORMAL INAUGURATION OF THE PHILIPPINES’ FIRST PERMANENT TEXTILE GALLERIES AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM AS THE COUNTRY OBSERVES NATIONAL HERITAGE MONTH.
Legarda said that the exhibition named Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textile aims to celebrate indigenous artistry through textiles and provide more Filipinos the opportunity to discover priceless information about the Philippine heritage.
“The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino serves as an attempt to bring the challenge of nurturing weaving traditions into the national stage, to a wider audience,” she explained.
“It has been my lifelong passion to explore the indigenous artistry of Filipinos told through traditional textiles. I have visited numerous weaving communities all over the country, and beyond the intricate weaving technique and fine embellishments we find in these garments, we discover cultural expressions and visions of our history that have endured the test of time,” the Senator added.
Garments from various cultural communities, concepts on making textiles from threads, materials used for weaving, and portraits of members of indigenous communities garbed in traditional outfits, are featured in the galleries. Each item found in the exhibition has its own story to share.
In opening the galleries, Legarda stressed that weaving traditions must be promoted, preserved, and sustained in the midst of the fast-changing globalized world, which poses a great threat to the existence of such practices.
“The task before us is to help our people value and continue our heritage. We must open doors of opportunities for weaving communities. We must promote greater support for cultural enterprises and creative industries of our indigenous peoples,” she pointed out.
“Let us make our people’s cultural identity a fundamental source of their socio-economic development. And let our common vision and values weave us together as we seek to empower those who have given meaning to our being Filipino,” Legarda concluded.
Senator Loren Legarda is the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities and the patron of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino textile galleries.