Chiara Cox's contemporary Filipino Textile exhibit serves to link Filipinos in the USA and Filipinos in the Philippines by showcasing their shared culture and heritage through a visual display of a variety of fabrics and a discussion of weaving traditions still found in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao today. By exhibiting different Philippine weaves, this collection aims to preserve Filipino cultural heritage, keep the legacy of traditional Filipino weavers alive, and educate the diaspora of Filipinos about their cultural inheritance. 

The collection includes weaves of cotton, piña (pineapple fibers), bridal satin, and abaca (banana fibers) representing traditions from the Cordillera Mountains of Luzon in northern Philippines all the way to the Sulu Islands of Mindanao in the southern islands of the archipelago. The exhibit also comes with three Threaded Traditions documentaries by HABI The Philippine Textile Council that are crucial to understanding the craftsmanship of the artisans and how traditions are being preserved today. These include Ikat of Cordillera, Textiles of Panay Island, and Memoirs of a Textile: Inabal of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. 

Through a relatable product such as cloth, people of all ages and from all walks of life can easily connect to a textile exhibit while being educated about natural fibers new to them and a visual aesthetic of patterns never before seen. Such a cultural exposure can spark curiosity and entice new ideas; it can encourage open mindedness and inspire wider perspectives. It is a hope that this collection of textiles is an impetus to create more Filipino American educational outreach programming to continue to promote Filipino heritage and to bridge the gap between different cultural groups.

Interested in exhibiting this textile collection? You can find the proposal here and contact Chiara Cox directly.

Interested in purchasing textiles? Please click here.