BAGUIO CITY (PIA) - - The Chanum Foundation Inc., in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)  successfully conducted  the 13th   Tam-Awan International Arts Festival  at the Tam-awan Village in Pinsao Proper in this city on   October 4 to 8.

Over   400 artists, artisans, cultural bearers and workers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao participated  in this arts festival   with the theme, “Ajowanan Kaugadian” an Ibaloi (Benguet) term  meaning  “traits and practices passed on by our ancestors” highlighting   the 25 years of  the Tam – awan Village in promoting and preserving Filipino arts and culture  especially of the Cordillera Region.

Founded in 1998 by the Chanum Foundation, Inc, the Tam-awan Village which the arts festival is named after,  is a venue  for art and cultural activities to enhance people’s appreciation of  our rich cultural heritage. It uniquely blends indigenous aesthetics an exquisite Cordilleran craftsmanship and allows tourists to see  traditional houses of indigenous peoples in  some provinces.

The festival participants were treated to many art and cultural activities. For learning sessions, there were workshops  on Advanced Watercolor Techniques , The Art of Rubber Cut Print, Mono-Print , Conceptualization of Art: How to make your art Viable,  and Theatrical performance art.

Modern and traditional tattoo artists from Kalinga, Manila, Pampanga and Pangasinan also collaborated for an activity  as “Tintatu” where they demonstrated their  craft.

The Benguet Ibaloi tribal dance and musical instruments were also showcased in the 13th TIAF along with other cultural performance.

Indigenous People Mandatory Representative   Joselito Shontogan  also discussed the Ibaloi (Benguet) rituals. 

 There was also a  demonstration of the Pangalay and indigenous dance properties of the Sulu Archipelago by the Dazzler Dance Company headed by Yang Bautista. 

Around 100 creative works from different artists all over the Philippines were also put on exhibit at the  Tam-awan Village’s Ugnayan and  main gallery and at  SM City Baguio.

NCCA Executive Director Oscar Casaysay, in a media forum at the Tam-Awan Village, congratulated the Chanum Foundation and its other partners and stakeholders for their vital role  in showcasing and promoting the diverse arts, crafts and cultural heritage of communities across the Philippines. He    assured NCCA’s continuing support in  promoting and conserving the country’s arts and culture through the Tam-Awan International Arts Festival.   

“Sa ngalan po ng Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, iba-iba man po ang uupo dito sa panel, iba – iba ang maging chairman, mapapalitan ang mga executive director pero iisa lang po ang hindi magbabago. Hanggang may Tam-Awan Village na patuloy na ginagawa ang ganitong gawain para sa kultura, para sa mamamayan, para sa sining, tuloy – tuloy pa rin po ang pagpapaabot ng tulong at suporta ng NCCA,” [On behalf of the NCCA, people   appointed as chairman or executive director change ,   but there’s one that won’t change. In as long as the Tam-awan Village  continues what it is doing for the culture, for the people, for are the arts, the NCCA will continuously  provide support]  Casaysay said.

Former NCCA Commissioner and Legal Counsel Atty. Trixie Cruz Angeles, in the same forum, highlighted the  importance of the Tam – Awan Village and the TIAF in the promotion  and conservation of arts, indigenous culture and tradition, as well as in the creation of new expressions of Filipino culture and creativity.

“There is always a new generation that needs to be reminded, that needs to be inculturated dun sa ating national culture  as well as the regional cultures. We are multicultural. Meron din yung mga bago na influences na pumapasok  so you put all of those into a mix and you have the Philippine cultural expression.

Salamat sa Tam-Awan kasi ang laking bahagi sila dito sa pagtuturo ng pag-express natin sa sarili at pag-alala dun sa mga kasaysayan at sa ating kultura kung paano siya pumapasok sa ating pang-araw,” Angeles stressed.

The TIAF started in 2010  as a project of Chanum Foundation Inc in partnership with NCCA under its Competitive Grants Program. Now  on its 13th staging,  the TIAF was adopted as an NCCA Special Project under the Committee on Arts and Galleries. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)