Homegrown: News

KIDLAT TAHIMIK'S HOME DESTROYED IN FIRE
FEB. 15. Eccentric filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik rebuilt the house his father built when the Luzon 1990 earthquake almost toppled it over a cliff along barangay Tuding in Tuba, a few miles away from downtown Baguio. But all that work went for naught when it was gutted by fire on February 15. "Only a charred sculpture of an Igorot man playing the flute remains of the house. It stands by the gate. I lost all my memories in that house," Kidlat said.
Government engineers had condemned the structure, but Kidlat followed the diviner’s advice and retained the misshapen sections when he stabilized the house, believing that if Mother Nature intended for his house to be shaped that way, he should follow. Every section of the house, which sloped in various angles, became instant art forms. Tahimik refused to use nails, and trusted Ifugao craftsmen to hold each room together using a complex system of wooden pegs and moorings.
After examining the smoking remains of his home, he said that the charred sculpture at the gate made him melancholic about fate. "I remember an episode in Japan when we encountered a tree that was struck by lightning. I asked the [Japanese] villagers not to uproot the tree. Instead, we had Ifugao craftsmen carve a giant totem pole [dominated by] a female cow playing the nose flute. [This fire] seemed to be connected [to the Japanese event] somehow," Tahimik said.

RENAISSANCE HOSTS TAM-AWAN ARTISTS
MAR. 19 - APR. 2. The artists of Tam-awan Village, led by Ben Cabrera, have a two-week exhibit at the Renaissance Gallery (4th level, SM Megamall, Ortigas Center). The show features some of the brightest talents in the Baguio art community, including recent Philip Morris winner Leonard Aguinaldo, John Frank Sabado, Ged Alangui, Jojo Elmeda, Rishab Tibon, Roland Bay-an, and Buddy Cabrera (Bencab's cousin).

SANTI BOSE AT CCP
APR. 15. In Memory of the Talisman: a retrospective exhibit of Santi Bose's work will be held the CCP Main Gallery, starting on the 15th of April. The exhibit is among several projects revolving around the late artist and his work. A comprehensive catalogue of his work, a biography (or two), and an expanded website are a few projects currently in the works.

BAGUIO SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL
APR. 19 - MAY 1. The University of the Philippines - Baguio campus, is holding its annual summer arts festival at the end of April. The festival activities include workshops, exhibits, symposiums, film screenings, and performances.
The workshops for children include drawing, painting, dramatics, music, and jazz dance. The workshops for teens and young adults include oil painting, illustration/cartooning, writing, theatre, digital imaging, stained glasswork, dance/performance, indigenous music, storytelling, and dramatics. The scheduled art exhibits are "Colored: Black n White" and BO-TI-KI (featuring indigenous motifs). The artist talks cover topics such as culture and the arts, crafts, and local art history. The scheduled film is Bontoc Eulogy. The roster f performances is highlighted by Malou Leviste-Jacob's Anatomiya ng Korupsyon, featuring the Barasaoin Kalinangan Foundation. >>SEE THE FESTIVAL DETAILS