ArteFino showcases the finest designer Filipino arts and crafts

Описание: (31 Aug 2018) LEADIN:
A colourful display of art and craft in Manila is showcasing the finest talent of local Filipino artists along with diamonds worth thousands of dollars.
But all the works at ArteFino have one thing in common - they're all local, handmade and rooted in tradition.
STORYLINE:
Rows of colorful clay sculptures, chic furniture and jewelry are just some of the items on display here at ArteFino.
What ties them all together is the way they were made – all locally and all by hand.
On its second year, the four day artisan fair's theme is "Local is the new international", pushing the notion that local Filipino products are of world-class quality.
But organizers of ArteFino doesn't want the fair to just be a platform for highlighting locally made products. They want to start a movement for the appreciation of Filipino artisanal craft versus mass produced goods, commonly found in the general market.
"You cannot replicate them in mass volumes but there is where the appreciation is, that's where, what we're trying to build. You have to be able to appreciate these products for their limited quantities, for the way they are produced. This jacket, for example, even if you had, you asked to produce twenty of them, they, it would never come out exactly the same because when you talk about artisanal products, they bring heart, they bring their culture into the work that they do," explains Cedie Lopez-Vargas, co-organizer and co-curator of ArteFino.
Tradition meets modern in ArteFino.
Artisans in the fair make it their mission to use indigenous and traditional materials to create a large variety of modern crafts; making every item hold a piece of culture.
Wicker bags, lamps and other furniture made from local vines and leaves can be seen all over the fair.
Traditional clothing is also re-imagined to be wearable casually in this modern age. Even the Barong Tagalog, an iconic Filipino embroidered formal shirt, was transformed into stylish and hip bomber jackets.
If you're looking for luxurious statement pieces, the jewelry section holds the most expensive items in the fair.
An infinity necklace studded with some of the finest diamonds in the country costs nearly a million pesos (900,000 PHP) or 16,827 US dollars.
With a wide range of products available, many of the attendees are on the look out for gifts to give during the holidays. Christmas preparations in the Philippines start as early as September.
34-year old yoga teacher and lawyer Joaquin Reyes dropped by the fair to scout for unique items he could gift to loved ones.
"Well for one, I try to buy gifts that are locally made and also unique because I mean it's fairly easy to buy generic stuff in malls. But to find unique items that you can give to family and friends, you have to go a little bit further or venture a little out more, and this gives me the opportunity to do it in only one place. So it's very convenient," says Reyes.
43-year old homemaker Tania Son-Vaca is a regular attendee of craft fairs in Manila but this is her first time in ArteFino. She was pleasantly surprised to see local artisans creating more modern products as opposed to just traditional artwork.
"So I just wanted to see how local crafts are going these days and I'm quite impressed with what we have now. A lot of very–you know, using Filipino material but modern things you could really use, you know what I mean? It's not like before where it's like "Oh there's a Jeepney and carved in wood", I mean these are, like, real things that you can use in a modern house, you know, that has that Filipino flair," says Son-Vaca.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...