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The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas showcased at National Museum WV "Habol Panay" exhibit


The National Museum in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda inaugurated the "Habol Panay: The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas. " at the National Museum - Western Visayas formerly the Prison of Iloilo.
It features the textiles, garments, accessories and associated weaving material culture of the region from the survey made by researchers of the NM Ethnology Division over the past few years. 
The result is the varied textile traditions from the Panay and parts of Negros Occidental.
More than 100 guests attended the event. These include: Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr.; former Antique Governor Salvacion Perez; Antonio Cabrera Legarda, the father of Senator Legarda and her Chief of Staff Tala Maralit; Executive Assistant Dominador representing the Iloilo City Mayor; Iloilo City director Martin Defensor Sr.; weavers from Miag-ao, Iloilo City (Arevalo), Aklan, and Antique, including Ms. Anna India Legaspi and Ms. Nelia Rogano; Wuthle embroiderers from Sta. Barbara; friends from the academe including UPV Chancellor Ricardo Babaran, Dr. Alicia Magos and Dr. Ebonia Seraspe; representatives from Western Visayas State University, PHINMA University of Iloilo, St. Paul University, Asilo de Molo; members of the Iloilo Business Club; friends from the PNP led by Region 6 director Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Iloilo Police Director Marlon Tayaba; and, friends from DOT, DSWD, artists and cultural workers, among others.
The program was led by NM Acting Assistant Director Angel P. Bautista, representing Director Jeremy Barns, who welcomed the guests. 
Here is the speech of Senator Legarda, which was read during the opening by her Chief of Staff Ms. Maralit:
"Today, I am filled with pride in welcoming you to our own textile gallery in the Panay Island, the 'Habol Panay: The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas' permanent textile gallery.  
It has been my lifelong passion to explore the indigenous artistry of Filipinos told through traditional textiles. We have so much to show the world and I have proven this with the numerous visits I had to various weaving communities around the country. I even go to the remotest barangays if only to see the most skilled weaver of a town or province. No weaver has ever failed to amaze me yet. Their diligence, creativity and passion are truly remarkable.

That is why I thought of establishing the country’s first permanent textile gallery, Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles, at the National Museum of Anthropology in 2012.

The gallery features the raw materials and looms used in weaving, the relevance of textiles in various communities, the different fabrics and styles of weaving, and various traditional textiles from ethno-linguistic communities, including the oldest existing textile in the Philippines, the Banton cloth.
To further explore our weaving traditions, we 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 including the sinamay weavers from Arevalo, Iloilo; weavers of patadyong and its innovations from Indag-an Cooperative in Miag-ao, Iloilo; patadyong weavers from the Bagtason Loom Weavers Association in Bugasong, Antique; and the Panay Bukidnon who showed their panubok.
Also part of my vision is to have regional textile galleries so that each region can showcase its unique weaving heritage. The first Hibla regional gallery, called Hibla Iloko, was launched in 2017 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Now that we have our own permanent textile gallery, our aim is not only to showcase the Panay traditions of weaving and embroidery but also to share this rich heritage to our kasimanwas and to ensure its preservation.

I will make sure that we will also have weaving demonstrations in this gallery and maybe even invite other provinces so we can share weaving traditions and exchange knowledge on weaving processes.

As we open the Habol Panay gallery, I invite you to take yourself in a journey, explore the similarity and diversity of our weaves, and be fascinated with the traditional skills that gave fruit to such artistic creations."

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