Museo ng Nayong Pilipino Bulletin February 2021
In its continued efforts to seek scholarly guidance, fill in gaps in the inventory, and rebuild the institution’s and the collection’s history, the Nayong Pilipino Foundation conducted another in-depth interview last January 18, 2021. Consulted was Dr. Cherubim Quizon, an esteemed anthropologist, research-author, and associate professor from Seton Hall University, New York.
Dr. Quizon recalled a few pieces in the current collection that were exemplary. However, unlike an anthropological collection with complete information, the team of scholars had to face the challenge of examining the textiles with no provenance or with only sparse data. As a result, they chose to highlight the materiality and production aspects of textiles. They titled the exhibit. Gan-ay/Gyan-ay, a Mandaya term that is also present in Northern Luzon which means the act of arranging the thread on the work loom.
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In 1995, Dr. Quizon was commissioned by the NPF to curate a permanent exhibit featuring the textile pieces of the NPF Collection. She was invited in January and the exhibit was set to open by May the same year. In the early stages of planning, Dr. Quizon recalled being presented with a document wherein she was to identify pieces to be featured. The list contained textile pieces with a blanket description of various ethnolinguistic communities across the Philippines. It was then that she asked to involve known experts and scholars, Dr. Norma Respisio and Dr. Abraham Sakili of the University of the Philippines to co-curate the exhibit.
Dr. Quizon narrated the challenges of working on the exhibition. The NPF museum staff then had basic knowledge of exhibitions and the materials needed to create display systems were at its bare minimum.
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Gaps in the Inventory and Research During the consultation, Dr. Quizon advised the NPF Team on the need to strengthen the current data the museum has, specifically on the dates of acquisition and names of donors. Data for donated objects from the PANAMIN (Presidential Assistant on National Minorities) can be collected from oral accounts through fieldwork or by partnering with institutions known to have interacted with PANAMIN. Another recommendation was to tap into existing museum data that are open access. Most museums have digitized their collections and have made them available online. Dr. Quizon advised gathering information on analogous pieces from these collections.
After the consultation, the new Museo ng Nayong Pilipino curatorial team realized how changes in cultural leadership in institutions affected the management of information and care for its collections. The team underscored the need to work towards developing policies to address previous gaps in management that led to lapses in stewardship and protection of the pieces from deterioration and losses. Dr. Quizon noted that the NPF is making gradual yet positive steps with its current efforts, including seeking information from the experts who have experience working with NPF and the collection. With the institution’s past, she added, this would take a more investigative approach and would require more time before the whole history of the collections can be consolidated.
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Conclusion
The Museo ng Nayong Pilipino Bulletin is a platform for providing updates on the work being done by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, conservators, digital archivists, and creatives at the Museo ng Nayong Pilipino. 2
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