Free puppetry, repoussé for tri-people Mindanao youth

Through the power of art as an instrument to enhance friendships among the youth, Manobo visual artist Carlito Camahalan Amalla will conduct a free puppetry and repoussé workshop for high school students and the tri-people in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur.

Entitled Mugna sa Pagadian, the interactive immersion contributes to the greater mission to achieve genuine and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Designed for young Muslims, Christians, and Subanens, as well as the members of the Holy Infant Seminarians from the Diocese of Pagadian, it fosters the pedagogy of connection and camaraderie, serve as a platform to spark artistic talents and abilities, as well as nurture interfaith religious experiences.

Amalla, a member of the Agusan Manobo tribe, and the founder and leader of the Agusan Artists Association in Butuan City and the Balangay Artists Association in Manila, will mentor the participants on how to create their stick puppets from scratch.

He will share his knowledge on how to craft metalworks using the repoussé technique, an approach which creates reliefs from malleable materials by hammering the reverse side.

These activities will ignite their imaginations, as well as hone their social skills in the aspects of communication, problem-solving, emotional development, and thus gain confidence.

Amalla is a performer, puppeteer, dancer, chanter, musician, ceramist, and researcher who has participated in exhibitions in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the USA.

He is currently an assistant professor for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Culture-Based Arts Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently bestowed upon him the Creative Caraga Award for his exceptional contributions to the creative industries in the region.

In 2023, he was invited by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China and Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government to represent Mindanao at the Silk Roads Artists’ Rendezvous-China Tour for Foreign Artists. It is a residency program in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in China, where he produced three acrylic paintings donated to the China International Cultural Association.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) likewise named him as Caraga Region’s Most Outstanding Volunteer (Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award Individual Category) and Regional Nominee to the Search for Outstanding Volunteers (SOV) 2023.

Amalla holds a bachelor in Fine Arts with a major in sculpture and a master’s degree in Art History, both from the University of the Philippines (UP). His Agusan Manobo embroidery art thesis, paintings, and puppetry in Sinuyaman: Awit ni Baylan were part of the Mindanao: Cartography of History, Identity, and Representation presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 2019.