Needlework of the Ancestors/Paiwan Designs for Today with Sigesile Kalidoai
Saturday 11 July 10:30am–1pm
Tanks Arts Centre Botanical Gardens Visitors Centre
In some Indigenous communities in Taiwan, needlework is more than decoration — it is a cultural contract woven through love, memory, and responsibility. In this workshop, artist Sigesile guides participants in developing a contemporary interpretation of traditional Paiwan needlework. Participants will explore the patterns of the ljavac, a traditional tote bag of the Paliljaliljaw people from the Hengchun Peninsula, learning how ancestral designs preserved on family heirlooms are re-imagined for contemporary life. Experience the Paiwan aesthetic of colour and pattern, and leave behind a meaningful cultural mark through each stitch for future generations.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sigesile Kalidoai was born and raised in a Paiwan village at the southern tip of Taiwan, on the Hengchun Peninsula. As a fashion designer and artist, she has immersed herself in the profound heritage of Paiwan culture and dedicated her career to the documentation, research, reconstruction, and cultural empowerment of traditional Paiwan attire.