BAGUIO CITY – The City Council passed a resolution declaring six sites in the city as creative centers in consonance with the title of Baguio City as a creative city for crafts and folk arts.
Authored by Councilor Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon, the resolution identified the proposed creative centers: The Diplomat Hotel or Heritage Hill area, the Maharlika Livelihood Center, the DTI-LGU-ABC livelihood center, the old city auditorium area, the Baguio City post office area and the BIBAK area.
In line with the objective to make creativity an essential element for the sustainable development of the city, the resolution stated that the local government committed to initiate the development of creative centers dedicated to enhancing aspects of crafts and folk arts that are predominantly present and thriving in the different parts of the city, specifically cloth, weaving, basket weaving, wood carving, jewellery making, gold and silver craft and even tattooing.
The resolution added that the creative centers shall be funded and managed by the local government in collaboration with concerned government agencies and the private sector.
The six creative centers for indigenous arts and crafts are established in strategic and accessible areas in the city. The resolution noted they shall have designs dependent on the specific needs of the arts and craft and that the centers are envisioned to be new generation co-working environments that will give freelancers, start-ups and micro-businesses the opportunity to work, collaborate and grow in a creative community-focused atmosphere.
The resolution claimed that by doing so, the centers will help in the creation of different and unique identities for products and services that can help strengthen businesses and propel and expand the local economy through creativity. All creative centers shall feature workshop and demonstration studios, design laboratories, exhibit areas as well as open collaborative spaces for creators and the public.
To encourage the growth of similar venues, the resolution underscored that the local government shall take the lead in providing incentives for the establishment of creative hubs in sustaining traditional arts and craft around existing artist villages and development of new ones.
Further, the existing and new creative centers will serve as important elements to create a healthy creative ecosystem in the city where creative talents could hone their craft and make a decent living or become entrepreneurs without necessarily leaving the city’s environs.
Earlier, Baguio City was designated as the City of Crafts and Folk Arts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Creative Cities Network on October 31, 2017 wherein the city was able to join the rank of 180 cities from 72 countries in the coveted group, the first in the country.
The resolution explained that becoming a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a platform for life-long learning, cultural sharing, innovation and productive transformation of the crafts and art forms and that Baguio City is now an active representative of the network’s core missions to raise awareness of the power of creativity and innovation in building sustainable cities.
The resolution asserted that the public shall see a revitalized creative industry in the city, sharing with, and learning from, the rest of the world.
By Dexter A. See
