Tais are handwoven textiles from Timor-Leste, each province producing distinctive patterns and colours that carry cultural and symbolic meaning. Beyond their functional and ceremonial uses, tais are a form of visual art. Through intricate motifs, colour, and composition, they reflect centuries of local aesthetics and history. Source: AWDB team. AWDB highlighted artist: Maria Madeira.

Tempera is the technique of painting with pigments bound in a water-soluble emulsion, such as water and egg yolk, or an oil-in-water emulsion such as oil and a whole egg. Some tempera paints are made with an artificial emulsion using gum or glue. Traditionally applied to a rigid support such as a wood panel, the paint dries to a hard film.  Source: tate.org.uk. AWDB highlighted artist: Sinta Tantra.

A transnational artist is someone whose work is influenced by the experiences of multiple countries, cultures, and art histories. Aiming to highlight collective global issues by bringing together elements from different backgrounds, they create art that reflects on living in a globalised world and uncover otherwise unrepresented histories. Transnational artists may operate within a global context, or choose to focus on specific regions, with personal experiences and identity often serving as a driving force behind their exploration of multiple cultures. Source: AWDB team. AWDB highlighted artist: Pio Abad.

An Italian padded quilting technique, trapunto is a decorative quilted design in high relief worked through at least two layers of cloth by outlining the design in running stitch and padding it from the underside. Source: Merriam-Webster.com. AWDB featured artist: Pacita Abad.

A triennial - also known as triennale - large-scale contemporary art exhibition that occurs every three years. Like a biennial, it is often attached to a particular place and is typified by its national or international outlook. The Tate Triennial showcases new developments in British art and the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, which was established in 1993, is the only major international exhibition to focus on art from Asia, the Pacific and Australia. Source: tate.org.uk. AWDB highlighted organisation: Asia Pacific Triennial.