Pinay dream weavers

The Ayala Museum opens a new floor to showcase indigenous textile arts in the Philippines from the collection donated by Mercedes Zobel.

'Skeins of Knowledge, Threads of Wisdom' exhibit

The revamped textile exhibition, 'Skeins of Knowledge, Threads of Wisdom' demonstrate the ingenuity, creativity, adaptability, and sophistication of the early Filipinos. Woven dreams of our native women weavers. 

These skills and techniques have been passed on for generations and manifest today in contemporary weaves, designs and fashion that continue to keep these traditional arts and crafts alive and current.

textile exhibition guide

united state of women

Red dresses are the powerful symbol of MMIWG - Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. May 5 is National Day of Awareness for MMIWG. It highlights the statistics around violence amongst women and girls - showcasing native art, expression, resistance, and grievance.

The REDress Campaign

Why red? "[Red] is the color of lifeblood—it connects all of us and it is sacred but it is also an allusion to what is happening to our women.”

BBC | the musical human

Music has been a lifeline during Covid - even if we haven’t all dabbled in picking or playing a chosen instrument - there's always Spotify or iTunes. 

As Michael Spitzer points out, this shift towards isolated listening is only the latest stage in a transition from active participation in music to our passive consumption of it that has been going on for thousands of years.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology - Chiapas, Mexico

Professor Michael Spitzer brings together archaeological, sociological and historical observations, along with theories from biologists and musicologists, to tell the story of what his subtitle boldly claims to be A History of Life on Earth.

Written by Michael Spitzer Read by Simon McBurney Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 

Released On: 06 Apr 2021

Spitzer isn’t afraid of using a sweeping statement or a corny line, and his fractal compositional technique means he has to make do without the narrative thrust of a conventional, linear argument. But The Musical Human is full of delightful nuggets and sends the reader back to a world of musical examples time and time again.

After following the evolution of music over 165m years, he greets the contemporary split between professional performers and passive consumers with little more than a shrug: “We are where we are, and it is where it is.” If music is as central to human existence as he suggests, we can’t leave musicians dancing to the tune of Deliveroo. ~ Book of the Day, The Guardian

colonialism, racism, sexism

Centuries of genocide and humanity have yet to right all the horrors of all the pain and loss incurred. Yet not enough conversation and collaboration is being done. Even after Trumpians recently made so much of it glaringly abhorrent. 

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World 2017

After watching the rock documentary "Rumble" - the profound and blatantly overlooked contribution of American Indians in the music world - I am left raging at yet another heart wrenching tale of undeniable prejudice and bias. 

a people united against oppressors

More and more communities recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day - either as a joint celebration on Columbus Day or totally replace it. 

Those more conscious choose to acknowledge and honor the suffering of the colonized and not gloss over the injustices of the colonizer, especially those perpetuated by the contentious Christopher Columbus. 

Portrait of Chief Yalektit by Robert Shetterly, Americans Who Tell the Truth

Columbus may have formed part of a large narrative of American history, yet he remains emblematic to the beginnings of the mistreatment of native peoples, the indigenous slave trade, the usurpation of their lands, the deaths of their people, the destruction of their cultures, the destruction of their local way of life.

bamboo dreams

We grew up where giant bamboo groves lined lazy meandering rivers. We listened to the gentle swishing and creaking in the breeze as we picnicked and snoozed in their shade. 

In much dwindled numbers, our country still uses bamboo for indigenous houses in many of our provinces. The bahay kubo is still a much loved symbol of bucolic bliss.

Read the full article at http://wonderwanderwomen.blogspot.com/2015/02/bamboo-dreams.html.