Artists have practically taken over barangay Pinsao Proper after nearly 400 artists from all over the Philippines joined the 12th Tam-awan International Arts Festival at the Tam-awan Village.
Artists have been billeted at practically every available transient houses near the 2.4 hectare artist village where for the first time since 2019 welcomed counterparts from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to the five day event.
Representatives from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and former press secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles joined Chanum Foundation president Jordan Mang-osan in formally opening the exhibits of the event which was actually launched Wednesday with lectures and workshops on various art forms.
A 12 wall mural paintings supported by Davies Paints on Cordillera heroes was also launched which was undertaken by artists from all over the archipelago and to be finished Sunday before the closing ceremonies.
IPOPhil secretary general Rowel Barba also signed a memorandum of agreement with Tam-awan artists through Mangusan of the agency’s support for the creatives’ creation and how to protect their rights to their works.
“Despite the pandemic, our artists were able to work and earn, thanks to online exhibits and selling,” said Mang-osan.
“Though this is the first face to face festivity after the Covid-19 lockdown,” added Mang-usan, who joined Angeles, Barba and NCCA chair Rene Escalante.
The event includes lectures from Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines including talks on the artists’ resale rights on their work.
Dubbed Hapit di Aammod, a Tuwali, Ifugao indigenous people, phrase that means voice of the ancestors, the 12th staging of what is now the biggest festivity of arts in the city focuses on the “wisdom in shapes, colors and words.”
The festivity includes workshops on mono-print workshop by Mark Tanduyog and jewelry-making workshop by Gretta Apolinar.
Workshop of the BCRR that focused on resale rights by lawyers Exequiel Valerio and Jeremy Boyores and orientation on copyright registration by atty. Fernan Dizon.
It includes acrylic painting and sand art workshops by Herwin Buccat and Art Nebula and Edwin Macadaeg, respectively; coffee painting workshop of Jen Lorenzo, Ocir Designs of Southern Luzon by Janet Braza, digital workshop by Jesus Genociva, stone art lecture by Lily Villanueva, Eden Cawang’s tapuey making demonstration, Dr. Oliver Rabara’s talk via zoom on the Philosophy of Art Making Sense of Shapes.
It will have talks by Valerio on copyrighting artificial intelligence generated artworks, Ike Picpican’s talk on Cordillera rituals, statue-making workshop of Paulo Guerero and a lecture on globalization of creativity in the city by Dr. Raymundo Rovillos.
The day festival will also have performances form the village artists and invited bands performing. Pigeon Lobien
