Dubbed the ASEAN Master Craft Design Festival, the exhibit will highlight the first collection of crafts developed through the project “Improving the Current Status of ASEAN Mastercraft Designers” which is supported by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

With the theme “ASEAN Crafts to the World,” the festival will feature new crafts in an ASEAN Pavilion featuring the works of master craftsmen Roselyn Long Lah of Malaysia, Lim Masulin of Indonesia, Truong PhiDuc of Vietnam, Rush Pleansuk of Thailand, and Al Valenciano of the Philippines. It will be curated by Indonesian architect Cosmas Gozali who also conceptualized the Pavilion’s design.

On display will be Indonesian batik handweaving applications on furniture, clothing, houseware and installations, and Malaysian beadwork as fashion accessories and lighting fixtures.

The Philippines will be represented by inabelhandwoven products from the Ilocos Region, Vietnam will display its notable lacquerware, while Thailand its craft designs applied on furniture, lighting, accessories and houseware toys.

A partnership with the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the project was initiated by the ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA) and the Philippine Small and Medium Business Development Foundation, Inc. (Philsmed).

It was endorsed by the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and funded by the ASEAN–Republic of Korea Future Oriented Cooperation Program.

According to Philsmed chairman and project director Mina Gabor, the program aims to strengthen and enhance the use of design in reinforcing cultural identity in the development and marketing of ASEAN products by sustaining the region’s master craftsmen.

She said the project stemmed from the decline in the export sales of Southeast Asian crafts as observed by the ASEAN countries during the AHPADA meeting in 2009.

“The solution is, not only to groom and propagate mastercraft designers, but also to make them develop and establish their individual cultural identity, attain brand distinction despite the commonality of raw materials, diversity, and ultimately enable them to name their price,” she added.

The Korean-funded program kicked off in mid-2015, and was able to train 103 new craftsmen in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Gabor said that a second round of workshops is slated for the master craftsmen of other Asean countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos as a continuation of the program.

A similar exhibit will showcasing the crafts of the five countries will also be held in 2017.

Read Related Articles

ATOP's 17th National Convention on Tourism

OK-Gayon Bikol: A Showcase of Bicol's Bounty