BAGUIO CITY – This year’s Tam – Awan International Arts Festival featured the various traditional practices of the Cordillera region and the country in attaining peace.
Home grown artists from the Chanum Foundation and the Tam-awan Village, in partnership with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and other various art organizations filled the scenic Tam-awan Village for the seventh edition of the annual Tam – Awan International Arts Festival dubbed as “Peace pacts” last week.
The festival formally on December 9, with traditional rituals and butchering of pigs. This was followed by performance and tree planting activity of local artist Art Lozano together with the other pillars of art and culture and the guest of the festival.
Chanum Foundation President Jordan Mang-osan said that they decided to conduct a “peace festival” this year wherein elders from the various provinces in the Cordillera region took part in sharing the traditional practices of peace pacts in their communities.
He said the festival aimed to empower artists as well as communities highlighting the arts, culture and heritage as well as the capacity of artists to contribute to society and reach people with their art.
Cordilleran elders and educators lectured on their peace pact traditions and even presented traditional rituals.
Among the province featured were Mountain Province, Kalinga and Ifugao. Aside from the Cordilleran peace pact, they also featured the Philippine Art Educators Association that spearhead the “Daloy ng Kapayapaan sa Diwa ng Buhay, Edukasyon at Sining” talk and workshop and the Talk on Universal Peace Sign Symbols by Roland Cruz of the Ayala Museum.
Prior to the festival proper, the Tam-awan artists opened their art exhibits featuring artists Gretta Apolinar, Joanne Bray Siadto, Art Lozano and Alfred Dato, Lily Villanueva and Jen Lorenzo, Lester Rodriguez and Herwin Buccat, Edwin Macadaeg and Alfonso Dato, Tara Lalaine Natividad and Luisa Galang.
The artists also shared their talents to students from various schools in Baguio City and Benguet with the conduct of a two-day workshop on the different medium of art such as water color techniques, monoprint, face painting, acrylic techniques, dream catcher making, sand art, and solar drawing.
Mang-osan and Frenchman Damien Noll also demonstrated solar drawings. Both artists use the power of the sun to create their chosen masterpieces with Mang-osan known to be the lone professional Solar artist in the country, using the sunrays to burn and etch images on wood while Noll, practices his solar art on animal bones, touring the globe with his work./JDP/RMC- PIA CAR#
