Inheriting traditions, sharing creations: Artists gather to connect at the 16th Tam-awan International Arts Festival

At Tam-awan Village in Baguio City, making art also means keeping heritage alive. That connection took center stage at the 16th Tam-awan International Arts Festival (TIAF), which brought artists, cultural practitioners, educators and communities together from 9 to 11 October.

Opened by the Chanum Foundation in 1998, Tam-awan Village has become a well-known destination for indigenous Cordilleran cultures and works by local artists. Its annual festival, previously held in May and more recently in October, has strengthened its role as a cultural space for learning and creative exchange while promoting Baguio’s cultural identity and creative tourism.

This year’s theme, “Obra ken Tawid: Panagtitipon (Heritage Lived, Art Shared, Community Connected),” celebrated “the convergence of artists, communities and cultures, emphasizing the role of the arts in honoring shared heritage, inspiring creative expression, and fostering meaningful connections.”

“Our theme says it all — ‘Obra ken tawid, heritage lived, art shared, community connected.’ Obra means work, what we create, make or do. And tawid means heritage, what we inherit, value and pass on. Together they tell us exactly what the festival is about — heritage lived, art shared, community connected,” said artist and Chanum Foundation president Jordan Mang-usan during Kapihan sa Tam-awan, a forum with members of the press.

“The two ideas are what bring us together. First, heritage is not something we only read about or do for one day. It is something we live by. Memory is important to us through our ancestors, our nostalgia, and removing it from our traditions is to take away the very heart of who we are,” he further said. “Tradition is nostalgia we turn into commitment. It is not just fondness for the past. It is the choice to keep our ways and to carry them forward every day.”

He concluded: “Obra is work — the weaving, carving, painting, and how we translate our tradition into a physical representation using our hands and heart. But work is not enough. Tawid means to pass it on. Art only stays alive when we share it, when we show it, teach it, and let others learn it too. What we create belongs to everyone, and what we know must be handed to the next generation.”

These ideas were being shaped and finding expression in exhibitions, talks, performances, demonstrations and collaborative art activities that brought contemporary artistic practices into conversation with inherited traditions.

The festival drew a wide range of artists, groups and galleries. Participants from Luzon included Abacá Finest; Alaminos Laguna Group of Artist; Antipolo Group Inc.; Artist of Bulacan; Batangenong Groupo sa Sining at Kultura Inc.; Berida Art Gallery; Bigkis Sining Binangonan; Brewed Art Gallery; Bugallon Artists Group; Camp ArtTuro; Canvas Symphony; Culture-Based Educators Society of the Philippines St. Mary’s Academy; Day by Day Christian Ministries; Dulaang Elyu; Elmer Tadeo; Erwin Mallari; Hardin Creatives; Herwitanyo Art Studio/Bugsay; Ifugao Creatives; Jhytt Tuazon; Justin Joseph P. Austria; Kontrabida; Korsakri Art Space; Kulay Gabay Project; Kulay ng Pitong Lawa; Linang Art Cave; Mga Kwento ni Hulyo; Mel Araneta; Paghid Visual Art Advocate; Philippine Art Educator’s Association; Pinankasakey Artists Circle; Pintartkasi; Pulong Kabyawan; Ricardo’s Galleria; Starry Starry Group; Studio 88; Sunburn Artist; Talaib Art Projects; The Outdoor Archivist; and Vice Versa Artists Group.

From the Visayas, participants included Art Palo; City Arts and Culture Office of Calbayog City from Samar; Espazio Art + History Gallery; Kasugbong Art Group; Kultura Samar Kalinayan; Pitad Kultura Waraynon; and Sinirangan Artists Guild.

Representing Mindanao were ABSTrax Arte Biswal Ng Sto. Tomas; Alampat Visual Artist; Arteverse Group; Artsumon; BuLAK; Capitol University Museum of Three Cultures; Carmen Art District; Eclectic Atelier/The University Art Club; Guhit Pinas Surigao; Pagadian Artist With Harmonious Interest and Devotion; Pinta Island; Pinta Okir; Pjelemuda; Ritzel Oyao; Tangcub Art Camp; The Art Studio; and The Gallery of the Peninsula and the Archipelago.

Joining them from overseas were Henri Lamy of France, Jun Amanto of Japan, and Jeff Gauci and Michelle Vito Gauci of Australia.

The first two days opened with a sangbo, an Ibaloy ritual led by elders Vicky Mackay and Felix Siplat. The Ibaloy are indigenous to Baguio and Benguet. Opening with an indigenous ritual has become a festival tradition, affirming its ties to the cultures of the Cordillera.

Demonstrations gave participants opportunities to encounter traditional crafts and practices, including Ibaloy tattooing by mambabatek Gustavo Montero; Cordilleran dances by Tam-awan Village’s resident dance group; reading and writing the Old Tagalog script, or baybayin; and textile weaving by the Baguio City-based Bloom Weavers Association and Bontok master weaver Cathy Ekid.

Other demonstrations featured Urban Sketchers Baguio and meditation coach Kimberly “Kim” Macatangay.

The festival showcased three exhibitions exploring art and heritage. At the Tam-awan Main Art Gallery, “Obra ken Tawid: Panagtitipon (Heritage Lived, Art Shared, Community Connected)” featured works by Ovidio Espiritu III, Monaliza, Carl Wesley L. Odlus, Gene Mikel Magayac, Vicson Apostol, Mj Palma, Emman Kismod, Yara Bolla, Ron de Torres, Jelly Kalaw, Roland Bay-an, Buddy Cabrera, Apple Abes, Angelica Rosalin, Azumi, Feli Alboc Gabito, Ams Tolentino, Semie Lou Cagas, Shiela May Rozano, Azriel Jainet K. Ongyao and Gnesha Dione.

“Folkswagen Blues 4” at Campfolkswagen showcased works by Rizal artists Horhe Jacinto, Acid Head, Valor Betonio, Angel Pt, Sakyo Torres, Rowell Tirona, Patrick Dotimas, Denzel Gomez and Jag Bitong.

Meanwhile, “Panag Aramid: Creating Connections Through Art and Heritage” at SM City Baguio runs from 10 to 30 October, extending the festival’s presence beyond the three-day gathering and its galleries.

Aside from exhibits, the festival also featured three new installations exploring nature, cultural identity and ancestral connections. Baguio-based multidisciplinary artist Froidhalaine G. Dulnuan’s Maitlengan, named after a Kankana-ey term associated with a cure for deafness, was a seven-foot abstract sculpture depicting a cañao. Made from metal scraps, brass, wood and moss, it explored ties to the land and the reclamation of cultural identity. Khim Vailor C. Camba’s Green Spheres drew attention to Baguio’s green spaces through 360-degree sphere paintings inspired by the fisheye lens. Artist-archaeologist Ian Cartalaba’s Tangible Wonder evoked the unseen magic of the forest through an installation suspended from tree branches. Its fluid movement invited viewers to pause, reconnect with nature and reflect on their ancestral connections.

Complementing the art activities were talks on conservation, cultural knowledge and artists’ rights. Dino Carlo Santos, supervising historic sites development officer of the Intramuros Administration, discussed “Mending Time: The Art of Restoration,” while Robby Dela Vega, senior historic sites development officer of the same agency, presented “Safeguarding Our Legacy: Artists as Conservators.” Luisa Galang and Birnalyn Lucindo, also from the Intramuros Administration, spoke on “The Hands that Remember: Preserving the Past, Creating the Future.” Rose Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles tackled “Copyright, Ownership and Fair Use: What Every Artist Should Know,” while Mackay and Siplat presented “The Meaning and Significance of the Sangbo Ritual.”

Participants also exchanged ideas at the artists’ forum, “Inspired by Tradition: Stories Behind the Art,” moderated by Horhe Jacinto and Roland Cruz.

Music, dance and other performances brought participants together for Panag-aapon Cultural Nights before the closing ceremony. The program featured Dianna David, Mga Kwento ni Hulyo, Soliman Cruz, Dazzlers Dance Company, Giulliene Sanchez and Handiong Kapuno, Jun Amanto, Pugaw Laya and Talahib, as well as traditional Teduray, Maguindanao and Cotabato Manobo dances. The gathering gave communal expression to the festival’s theme, with art and inherited traditions shared through performance.