4th Tam-Awan International Arts Fest to feature Cordillera tattooing and fashion

The art of the traditional Cordillera tattoo will be among the highlights of this year’s Tam-Awan International Arts Festival (TIAF), which is being held in honor of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) National Heritage Month.

 

According to the festival’s Facebook page, the TIAF, which will be held from May 15 to 20 at Tam-Awan Artists’ Village in Baguio City, will feature a tattoo fashion show as well as workshops on traditional and modern tattooing. Apart from that, the festival will also focus on traditional Cordillera jewelry, with workshops on beadmaking, a jewelry exhibit, and a fashion show of traditional Cordillera accessories.

 

The TIAF is only one among the various celebrations of National Heritage Month, which will be celebrated year-long across the country under the theme “TAOID: weaving our stories, threading our paths.”

 

Other heritage celebrations include the Sarangani Bay Festival in Glan, Sarangani, from May 24 to 25; the “Gabii sa Kabilin,” a night-long tour of the 23 museums and 18 art galleries in Cebu on May 31; the Saluka Festival in Capul, Northern Samar from July 26 to 28; and the Say-Am Festival, a practice of traditional Isnag rituals and indigenous games, in Pudtol, Apayao from October 8 to 9.

 

In-between the festivals, heritage clinics and exhibits will also be held, along with workshops on cultural mapping, festival management, capability building, art, theater, and dance.

 

May was declared the National Heritage Month under Proclamation No. 439, which was signed on August 11, 2003, “in recognition of the need to create among the people a consciousness, respect, and pride for the legacies of Filipino cultural history, and love of country.” – Amanda Lago / KDM, GMA News