Claim: Art Weave is the first ever to feature an art collaboration between artists and weavers in the Philippines
Rating: FALSE
A Facebook page named “BecomingFilipino” claimed last July 29, 2022 that Art Weave is the first-ever collaboration in the Philippines between weavers and artists where the weavers weave their interpretations of the artworks.
The page showcases “…the journey of a 27-year-old Canadian trying to “Become Filipino” and the contents are about the author featuring and experiencing various Filipino cultures.
However, it is akin to a personal blog, and there is usually no research cited in the posts.
Also, the page’s claim about that particular collaboration is misinformed. Although the author couches his words with a question mark, the title clearly misleads from the beginning.
The Facts: Art Weave is a project created to assist struggling weavers. It sheds light on their crafts as they interpret more well-known forms of artwork such as paintings.
By featuring the weavers’ artworks, Baguio Arts and Crafts Collective Inc. executive director John Arvin Molintas believes that this collaboration will help the country’s weaving industry garner more attention and thus increase its market value. However, this collaboration is not the first between weavers and other artists.
In the 1980s, weaving icon Narda Capuyan had already been collaborating with visual artists such as Allan Cosio, Santi Bose and Jimmy Montero where Capuyan’s team of weavers brought these artists’ designs to tapestries.
Why we fact-checked this: Such false claims hinder people from acknowledging the work and legacy of pioneering artists such as Narda Capuyan.
It is essential to give credit where it is due by researching thoroughly. Weavers are already struggling to fight for their disappearing traditions, so people must recognize them and their work in the proper context and history.
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