Weaving Peace and Dreams: Textile Arts of Mindanao
Historic Mills Building
220 Montgomery St. San Francisco
September 18 - December 1 2018
The Hinabi Project (THP) of PAWA
in collaboration with
Mills Building in San Francisco
and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA Philippines),
NTFP-EP Philippines present an exhibit of commissioned,
antique and vintage textiles of various communities from Mindanao
The Hinabi Project (THP) brings to San Francisco the unique textile art of the weaving communities of Mindanao Mandaya, Bagobo, Higoanon, T’boli, B’laan, Yakan, Tausug, Maranao and the Magindanao. Traditional weaving was circumscribed by ritual and ceremonies of the life-cycle birth, marriage and death. The fabrics produced were meant to address these ceremonial needs. Weaving was a contemplative and peaceful endeavor for the women of these communities. Textiles also serve as peace offerings to resolve community conflicts and uneasy alliances. With the new demands of political determinism, new ideologies, and the consumer technologies what typically would be a peaceful activity has been disrupted but the Indigenous weavers continued their craft throughout the twist and turns of the country’s political fortunes. Weaving was and still has been for most, a means for additional income to an essentially peasant/farmer subsistence economy. Now, they also struggle between the tenets of traditional weaving customs and the demands of the local and tourist market while working in social conditions less conducive to weaving. With this disruption, the continuity of the indigenous weaving tradition, the passing on of its heritable designs and technique, and the self-pride and worth of work is a cause for grave concern. The Hinabi Project through this exhibit, hopes to highlight the possibility of evolving newer concepts of design and work, thereby, encourage other designers, weaving artisans, and scholars to talk about their future direction.