The Philippine Embassy in London recently conducted a community co-curation workshop, “Well-worn Belongings – A Source Community Co-curation Workshop with the Rachel and Clare Tanner Collection” of vintage Philippine clothing and other items at Sentro Rizal London.
The collection, consisting of indigenous costumes and objects mostly from the Cordillera Autonomous Region and Mindanao, was acquired by Mr. David Tanner, a British national who worked for a multinational corporation in Manila from 1975 to 1980, and his family, particularly his mother, during their travels around the Philippines. Rachel and Clare are Mr. Tanner and wife Jackie’s Philippines-born daughters.
The community co-curation workshop, in collaboration with the Philippine Studies programme at SOAS University of London, was moderated by its Project Head, Dr. Maria Cristina Juan. Members of the Filipino community in London belonging to the two (2) Igorot organizations - the Igorot Charity UK and the Igorot Organisation UK – as well as the Philippine Muslim Association (PMA) eagerly participated in the workshop. Mr. Tanner, whose family owns the collection, was likewise present, and spoke about his interest and fascination with Philippine indigenous cultures. The son of an anthropologist, he said he recognizes the historical and cultural significance of the collection, hence, his wish, together with his family, to donate the items to the Philippines.
In her opening remarks, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Rhenita B. Rodriguez extolled the idea of community groups coming together to share their stories and recollections in order to paint a picture of their communities’ history and heritage. CDA Rodriguez also expressed her gratitude to Mr. Tanner for loaning his family’s collection of vintage Filipiniana items to the Embassy for the workshop, which is in preparation for an exhibit of the collection at Sentro Rizal London in 2023.
In her presentation before the workshop proper, Dr. Juan discussed the main ideas and steps of community co-curation, which involves the source communities and is aimed at reconnecting the items with the cultural bearers.
The activity was an opportunity for the participants to view, touch and assess the significance of the collection. They were very enthusiastic in sharing snippets of lore about the items, such as being told as young children by their parents that if they are naughty, men wearing an Ifugao hat (one of the items in the Tanner collection) will take them away and they will never see their parents again. A Tausug participant shared that one of the headscarves in the collection is mostly worn by warriors. The participants also tossed around ideas on how they want their respective cultures to be represented in an exhibit of the collection.
