The UP Asian Center will be holding a forum-exhibit, , on 14 November 2018, 3 pm–5 pm, UP Asian Center, Quezon City. The event is free and open to the public, but participants are encouraged to sign up.
Visually merchandizing the Philippines has a long history that dates back to the ethnographic collections in world exhibits in Madrid and Barcelona in the late 1800s. Today, the consumption of, and penchant for the ‘exotic ethnic’ continue to rise, catching up with the restless demand of an ever more urbane and sophisticated public. Often, the Filipiniana theme is utilized for the purposes of pure commerce, devoid of any intent towards a cultural or socio‐civic enrichment.
This presentation aims to critically assess why retail companies unreservedly brand their stores with the noun/adjective Filipiniana and how they deploy the techniques of visual merchandising in representing or misrepresenting the Philippines, Filipino and Filipino‐ness. Through discourse analysis, the presentation examines the significance of ‘using’ the idea of ethnic identity in retailing, the operators of Filipiniana stores and displays, and their assumptions in visual merchandising.
This presentation begins with the story of the footwear-making industry in the sleepy town of Mariquina at the end of the nineteenth century. It examines the periods and ‘perceived moments’ when footwear production in the city reached national prestige and encountered obstacles; ascertains the causes of this localized industry’s presently informal structures as adaptations to a series of local, national, and global challenges; discusses how private retailers and the city’s local government promote Marikina footwear, and help improve the state of footwear-making and the lives of Marikina’s sapatero. The presentation features life histories of sapatero who have witnessed a time of prosperity and periods of setbacks in this localized industry.
The forum-exhibit is being held as part of the 63rd anniversary of the UP Asian Center. View full list of activities.