A PRODUCER from Negros Occidental was chosen as the country’s awardee for Asean Selections 2017 by the Support Arts and Crafts International Center of Thailand (SACICT), an organization which supports the creation and sale of folk arts and crafts.
Christina Gaston, owner of Hacienda Crafts in Manapla town, received the recognition from SACICT chief executive officer Amparwon Pichalai in rites held at Bangkok Arts and Crafts Center in Bangkok City, Thailand Thursday.
Gaston was the only awardee from the Philippines, and among the nine recipients from different Southeast Asian countries in this year’s recognition with emphasis on innovative craft and basketry.
“It is an honor to be alongside other Asean awardees who are amazing craftsmen, artisans, designers and artists,” Gaston said.
Gaston, president of the Association of Negros Producers, was nominated by the Design Center of the Philippines.
She presented her Hacienda Crafts’ Foliage Series of Coconut Twig Leaves, which was adjudged winner by a panel of judges from Thailand, Japan, and Korea.
The Asean Selections program is aimed at fostering the collaboration of crafts in Southeast Asia as well as giving attention to the region’s craft traditions.
Gaston has urged fellow Filipino producers to take care of, preserve, and propagate the country’s natural resources to be able to use them for generations to come.
“I am encouraging Filipinos to be proud of our heritage and express it because it is our own,” she said, adding that “to our Negrense producers, continue to develop excellent products for the world.”(EPN With PNA)