VAG's Art Connects weaves together history of the Philippines' lustrous piña fabric, May 13 at 5 pm

Dance artist Ralph Escamillan, fashion historian Gino Gonzales, and textile designer Carlo Reporen Eliserio share the significance of the textile woven from pineapple leaves

Vancouver Art Gallery’s Art Connects streams Ralph Escamillan, Gino Gonzales, and Carlo Reporen Eliserio on piña, on May 13 at 5 pm

EVEN IF YOU’VE never set foot in the Philippines, you know the fabric: the lustrous, lace-like luxury textile used for everything from traditional barong shirts to camisas and pañuelo shawls.

The fabric has inspired a new work by FakeKnot dance artist Ralph Escamillan. In the VAG’s next Art Connects talk, he’ll invite viewers into his research, joined by two experts: fashion historian and costume-designer Gino Gonzales and and textile designer and expert weaver Carlo Reporen Eliserio. Learn how the pineapple leaves, introduced by Spaniards, are cultivated and then woven, and about how the intricate fabric has been not just worn historically, but used for furniture and bags.

The talk, being offered as part of the gallery’s Institute of Asian Art, will offer simultaneous translation from English into Tagalog; it’s timed to broadcast to the Philippines, where it will be morning. Note that the Zoom format allows for a Q&A, where the audience can submit questions.

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