It has been a wonderful weekend for MYY Living Arts team; we hosted our very first edition of ‘Learning From Elders- Sugu Tinggi by Sam Anthony’. It was held virtually via zoom and live streamed on Facebook as well. This workshop was fully supported by Yayasan Perpaduan Sarawak and Tuyang Initiatives.
What is Sugu Tinggi?
Sugu Tinggi is a headgear worn together with Ngepan Iban (Iban’s traditional costume). It requires a very high level of handicraft skills and most importantly, PASSION. to create Sugu Tinggi. In addition, to be good in the craft, practice constantly is a must. Nowadays, Sugu Tinggi making is not popular among the younger generation. Furthermore it wasn’t exposed widely to them. Hence, ‘Learning From Our Elders’ is born.
About Learning From Our Elders
A series of workshops celebrating diverse community practitioners and elders who are still practicing artisanal, cultural skill sets. The goal is to provide an opportunity for the public to have conversations and learn directly from them.
Get to know Sam Anthony
Sam Anthony is a well known craftsman and he has been making Sugu Tinggi for 3 years now. He started getting his hands on tailoring and designing since he was in school. In other words, he is very passionate about it and has been in the scene for 15 years. Therefore, he is just the perfect fit to be our trainer for the first edition of this workshop. He was eager to share his knowledge so that it will trigger the younger generation to continue the legacy.
The happenings
Initially, the class was limited to 10 participants to start of with. To our surprise, it was filled up immediately and we were over the moon. Free craft kits were given to all participants worth RM100- they were super lucky! Participants get to collect their kits at our collaborators collection points around Miri, we were so grateful for their kind assistance.
The whole session was really interesting. It was an eye-opening experience for everyone. Crafting Sugu Tinggi was not as easy as it seems but they managed to get it done. Everyone get to know each other virtually as well. Kudos to the team, they really made this workshop run smoothly.
If you missed the live session, just click on the link: https://www.facebook.com/MYYLivingArts/videos/205821061620889
Will there be another ‘Learning From Elders’ workshop? What kind of skills would you like to learn next? Stay tuned and follow our social media to get the freshest news.
Till then,
Judith.
Our very own Perra Lanting as the moderator
Drawing some simple patterns on the aluminium sheet
Participants get to create their own pattern on the aluminium sheet