Social threads weave art project
Twenty craftspeople in rural Phillipines will benefit from a UNSW community outreach project.
Published on the 08 May 2008
Filipino artists will showcase their traditional embroidery in the heart of Manila as part of a community outreach project organised by UNSW's Omnium Research Group and COFA.
[re] frame Manila is the third annual non-profit Omnium Outreach Project to encourage students, educators and professionals to collaborate globally on socially responsive art and design projects.
Over the past six months the project has provided consistent employment for 15 embroiderers and 5 woodworkers, who have created 2,500 framed embroidery panels, culminating in a 5m by 11m high art installation.
The artwork will be installed in the foyer of the De La Salle-College of Sainte-Benilde, Manila, one of the major art and design colleges in the Philippines.
Senior COFA lecturer and Omnium founder Rick Bennett believes the main aim of [re] frame Manila is to develop new commercial opportunities for local artists while allowing them to remain loyal to their Filipino culture and heritage.
"The installation will act as a dynamic portfolio to showcase the skills and techniques of local artists and will provide possibilities for future commissions to assist their livelihoods," said Mr Bennett, who is currently in Manila.
The installation aims to be the first of a new series of commissions for placement in commercial settings in the Philippines.
All Omnium Outreach Projects are fully funded from sales of Omnium software and commercial design projects.
Previous Omnium Outreach Projects have assisted communities in Kenya, East Timor and Sri Lanka.