Artist to present workshop of Philippines? ancient writing system

Renowned Filipino American artist, lecturer and cultural preservationist Fred DeAsis will present a mini workshop and demonstration of the Philippines? ancient writing system ?baybayin? at the Philippine Independence Day celebration event Saturday.

The annual event is hosted by Filipino American Association of Fairfield Iowa, under the leadership of Gene and Vilma Kintanar Thorn. The workshop/demo includes a history and significance of baybayin in the Philippine culture. A name conversion art session and ethnic body ?tattooing? also will be presented to guests.

Baybayin is a writing system commonly used during pre-colonial Philippines. It is one of many writing systems used in Southeast Asia. The origin could be traced back from north central India were artifacts in Brahmic writing system were found dated as early as the third century B.C.

DeAsis is one of the most prolific Filipino-American artists in America. He is well known for his traveling Kut-kut cultural art exhibits and Philippine art and culture lectures in universities and other learning institutions. He was the recipient of 2006 Filipino-American Hall of Fame and the 2007 Asian-American Hall of Fame awards for outstanding achievement of an individual in promoting arts and culture in North America. In 2008, he was given the Distinguished Citizen award by the Philippine American Cultural Foundation for his annual arts and cultural projects for the community.

He received the much coveted 2010 CFO Presidential Award from the president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, for outstanding achievement and service in the field of arts and culture. The international award is given every two years to highly selected individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements on their given field.

More information on DeAsis? artful events and updates are on his Facebook page. For interest and inquiries on kut-kut art/baybayin workshops and cultural programs, contact him via email at artist@fdeasis.com.

For directions and more information about the Philippine Independence Day Celebration, contact Vilma Kintanar Thorn by calling 641-472 0950 or emailing nigelth@mchsi.com.