Baguio’s art mecca celebrates 16th Tam-awan int’l arts fest
MANILA, Philippines – The Tam-awan Village is currently celebrating its 16th Annual International Arts festival. The three-day event will culminate today, October 11.
Events calendared for the arts fest include venues like SM Baguio and the Volkwagen Museum, among others. The arts festival opened with a "kapihan" forum at the Ugnayan Gallery.
“Workshops like weaving and other crafts, as well as performances like the cañao, are part of the affair," said Jordan Mang-osan, co-founder and president of Chanum Foundation.
The Tam-awan International Arts Festival is an annual celebration that brings together artists, cultural practitioners, educators, communities, and audiences from around the Philippines and beyond.
“For the past 16 years, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts has always supported the Tam-awan Village, especially in this month celebrating Museums and Galleries. We look forward to more collaborations with Cordilleran artists,” said Rene Napeñas, speaking in behalf of the government’s art agency.
Under the theme “Obra ken tawid: Pinagtitipon (Heritage Lived: Art shared, Community connected)," the festival presents the Baguio village as a living cultural space where heritage continues to be practiced and shared through art, community participation, and knowledge exchange. It creates opportunities for artists, cultural bearers, communities, and galleries to connect, collaborate, and celebrate culture together.
“Cultural products abound in the village, as well as other lowland centers in the region. Tam-awan is one of the must-visit destinations in Baguio. There is an indigenous way of terracing our slopes.
“Conservation efforts of artworks from small galleries go hand in hand in hand in addressing soil erosion in some areas,” said the Department of Tourism-Cordillera spokesperson Sylvia Chinayog.
After the forum, the attendees broke into group sessions for their respective workshops.
“Tam-awan Village is the only heritage site with an experiential feel. And those who have experienced it have their senses tickled. On the other hand, we don’t want our structures to be overpowered by modern ones,” said architect Mylene Yaranon from the Sub-Committee on Architecture.
An interesting discussion that kept the young minds buzzing was the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in present media formats, as artists joined in the discussion on how to approach it withput stifling creativity.
“Join us as we celebrate the stories, traditions, and creativity that has connected us all since 1998,” added Mang-osan at the close of the Kapihan forum.
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