ANTHILL Fabric Gallery showcases Cebu’s “Hablon” as an art form

CEBU CITY – The ANTHILL Fabric Gallery in Cebu opened an inaugural textile exhibition dubbed as “Habol, Hablon, Hinablon: Until Now, we learn” featuring the works of artist Jessica Durano and master weaver John Ray Sanchez at its location at Pedro Calomarde St, Cor Acacia St, Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City in celebration of the gallery’s 15^th anniversary in July 2025.

ANTHILL is owned and managed by Anya Lim and the exhibition is curated by Kaye Yuvallos, an arts-based researcher from New York, who is also a Cebuana in a collaboration highlighting the evolution of weaving as an art form and a cultural expression in Cebu.

“Weaving has long shaped Cebu’s material landscape, but its role in identity and livelihood remains complex. In Argao, for instance, weaving was not considered integral to tribal identity yet, its persistence in Cebu has endured in histories that saw bustling trade, cultural shifts, and colonization,” Lim said in her opening message.

“Habol, Hablon, Hinablon” are three Cebuano words which form the heart of the exhibition that traces and transforms the relationships embedded in them; Habol means a blanket or cloth to warm or cover; Hablon is the act of weaving and Hinablon is the finished woven cloth, be it a blanket, an art piece, bags, dresses, home and table décor and many more, Lim explained.

Lim said that ANTHILL, on its 15^th anniversary, reopened its doors not just as a fashion retail store and textile shop, but as a living fabric gallery to deepen its commitment in elevating weaving beyond utility; honoring it as an art form, a language of identity, and a medium of self-expression for memory, movement, and meaning by featuring local talents and artists.

The artists behind the art exhibitions

Jessica Durano is a fashion and textile designer from Cebu City and the founder of Damgo Studio and co-founder of fashion label Kinabuhi. She is known for her work in sustainable design and community engagement, previously working for John Rey Sanchez

John Rey Sanchez is a Cebuano weaver with a background in product development who is deeply knowledgeable about local weaving traditions.  He initially trained in banig weaving from his mother and has expanded his practice across multiple fiber techniques and has collaborated with designers across the Philippines.

Durano and Sanchez each present three new works developed through a months-long collaborative curatorial process that explored identity and authorship, the intertwined nature of tradition and commercialization, and emotional and gendered labor.

Many learn to weave from their mothers, as did Sanchez, despite not coming from a tribal community but each work on view honors the tradition of Cebuano weaving by elevating the practice as a site where personal history and imagination uncover new ways of being.

Durano’s work in sustainable fashion and community textile design emphasized environmental and social responsibility. However, in this exhibition, she turns inward. Her piece Luwas (Safe) rethinks comfort through coarse abaca fibers, subverting expectations of softness in a comfort object. Her Diwa (Spirit) series uses local materials and dried flowers to trace key transitions in her life.

“It was moving and challenging. I finally see how textile weaving is a way of finding who you are. Weaving communities always embed themselves in the piece, and I now connect with this deeply as I express myself through the loom,” Durano said.

For Sanchez, the exhibition marks his first public presentation as an artist after decades of working behind the scenes in Philippine weaving production. His works, including Kahupayan (Comfort) and Pagsubang (The Sun Rises) are also imbued with familial touch, especially from his wife Mymy, who collaborated with him on several works.

In Pagsubang, he reveals that he is stepping out of the cave of anonymity and into a life shaped by self-determined meaning.  “I’ve been behind the scenes for 20 years. Now it’s my time. I’m stepping out of the cave,” Sanchez added.

Art curator Kaye Yuvallos described the exhibition as a shared offering.  “This isn’t a show about polished artifacts or fixed identities. It’s about making space for becoming and how stories are made through, as well as by, making. Weaving, as with our ancestors, continues to be a way to sense oneself more deeply and to welcome others to do the same,” Yuvallos said, in a zoom link from New York.

Yuvallos is a Cebuano arts-based researcher and designer based in New York and her work focuses on the intersections of material culture and identity, particularly in communities shaped by migration and colonial histories.

“Habol, Hablon, Hinablon: Until now, we learn, reminds us how care, creativity, and legacy live not just in the woven but in the hands that continue to weave. A reminder that tradition, like the self, is still unfolding. “Until now, we learn,” Sanchez said, putting meaning into the art exhibit.

Reflections on the Exhibition

ANTHILL owner Anya Lim reflected on the depth and meaning behind the collaboration, the integration of weaving into the Filipino identity and the impact on the artists and the community they worked with, giving voices to weavers, the elegance and dignity of the art and the simplicity and storytelling power of the artist’s techniques.

“ANTHILL’s role is to provide the venue in showcasing local talents and artists, their works and the dignity to their craft. The Gallery conveys the dignity and importance of weaving in Filipino heritage,” Lim said. (Photos: MBCNewman/ANTHILL Fabric Gallery)