BANKING on the highland chill, organizers of the November international arts festival enjoin all to visit the mountain city.
Dubbed “EntaCool”, the 2018 Baguio Creative International Arts Festival was coined from the word “entaku” meaning lets go and “cool”, the adjective used to describe Baguio’s climate and its people.
Baguio City is among the 64 cities from 44 countries that have been designated as Unesco Creative Cities with the objective of fostering innovations and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development.
The November festival serves as the highlight for this year.
Activities for next month include exhibits, talks on culture and creativity, forest bathing, weaving, crafts exhibition with offerings from National Artist for Visual Arts Ben Cabrera and solar artist Jordan Mang-osan.
The festival aims to build the image through expositions, exhibits, forums showcasing galleries and shops of artists and artisans during the festival and promotion through a creative crawl map, with sites that can be visited beyond the festival and through an active online portal as well as galvanize a unified cultural and creative community among diverse and unique endevor through a collaborative effort in contributing to the success of the festival and collectively taking ownership of the vison for “Creative Baguio.”
The festival also lays the foundation for the city to establish creative hubs and spaces where the aim of promoting creative endeavors as a driver for sustainable urban development can be institutionalized as a city long term program.
Main festivities are set at the Diplomat Hotel as well as key areas in the city to host the month-long affair.
Councilor Mylen Yaranon said the Baguio Creative International Arts Festival in November will feature an expo where international and local crafts will be showcased.
“The local government unit plays an important role because of its commitment to the Unesco Creative Cities Network designation as City of Crafts and Folk Arts. The creative economy had always been there, with the artists and artisans forming this existing creativity in Baguio. With the LGU's commitment to Unesco, culture and creativity is now the driving force for our city's sustainable development and urban redevelopment. Collaboration between the LGU and the creative sector should be achieved so that we can sustain our designation as City of Crafts and Folk Arts,” Yaranon said.
Sectoral representatives on the creative council include Alec Mapalo for performing arts, National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto Cabrera, Kidlat Tahimik for film, Gilbert Gano for sculpture and carving, Romel Marcelo for metal crafts, Laida Lim for weaving and Frank Cimatu for literature.
The Creative Cities Council is set to give exposure to the silver crafts industry, weaving, wood carving and cultural performance and literature unique only in Baguio City and the Cordillera Region.