Visual artist Carlito Camahalan Amalla, a member of the Agusanon Manobo tribe, will share the traditional and contemporary perspectives of their very own embroidery art in a free two-part online workshop entitled Suyam: Sining ng Pagbuburda.

Amalla, the founder and leader of the Agusan Artists Association in Butuan City and the Balangay Artists Association in Manila, will discuss the remarkable textile heritage of suyam, an embroidery characterized by the various geometrical designs.

He believes the dress in itself has become an extension of the body – a form of universal art grounded on the rituals, unity and everyday living of the tribe.

The artist will expound on the creative process behind the craft, the significant role of women weavers in keeping this local cultural expression and native knowledge alive, plus its developments with the help of modern methodologies and equipment.

“Textile art is a living canvas connected with the symbolic, organic, and cosmic,” Amalla noted. “It has story and glory interwoven within the strands of abaca and synthetic fabric, foregrounded by prevalent design motif and pattern with corresponding meaning.”

Amalla is a performer, puppeteer, dancer, chanter, musician, ceramist and researcher who participated in art exhibitions in Wales, Belgium, England and USA.

He holds a bachelor degree in Fine Arts with major in sculpture and a master’s degree in Art History, both from the University of the Philippines. His Agusan Manobo embroidery art thesis, paintings and puppetry in Sinuyaman: Awit ni Baylan were part of the Mindanao: Cartography of History, Identity and Representation presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 2019.

He is a recipient of the 2021 Asia Pacific Luminare Award and 2020 Outstanding Leadership in Culture and the Arts in New York City.

He was likewise lauded with the 2016 University of the Philippines Alumni Association-Distinguished Alumnus in Community Empowerment, 2015 The Outstanding Butuanon Award, 2012 Polytechnic University of the Philippines- Gat Apolinario Mabini Award, 2009 United Nations Outstanding Youth Service Award and 2008 National Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Suyam: Sining ng Pagbuburda is free and open to the public. It is organized by the Arts and Culture Cluster of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, where Amalla has been sharing his expertise as an assistant professor under the School of Design and Arts.

The discussion and workshop on the traditional suyam will be conducted via Zoom on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 2:00 p.m. The contemporary suyam session will be held on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

Interested participants may register through https://tinyurl.com/5n7bjdtb. For more information, visit Benilde Arts and Culture Cluster on https://www.facebook.com/benildearts.