The Pasakalye Group of Artists and the Artist Guild of Itogon (AGI) in partnership with SM City Baguio opened the “Art in Bloom: Maki Arts Tayo Ngarud” to the public from Feb. 1 to April 11 in celebration of National Arts Month.
The exibit is located at the Lower Basement Level Gallery and at the Upper Ground Level between Uniqlo and H&M.
To celebrate National Arts Month, The Art in Bloom: Maki Arts Tayo Nga-rud is a project that hopes to help uplift the local art community by displaying over 180 art pieces and 3D sculptures of established and emerging artists from Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay to give an opportunity to expand their reach and a larger platform for budding and blooming artists.
Maki-Arts Tayo Ngarud is translated “Let us join the arts” with the Ilocano expression “ngarud,” and serves as a call for people to join the arts bandwagon.
“Interestingly, these lockdowns gave some people the epiphany to arts. Other than sitting through browsing online, some discovered art appreciation and began their art collections. But most of all, more and more people have discovered their hands to visual arts. As people continue to struggle with this pandemic, art became the outlet for dreams and aspirations, of beauty beyond the difficulty, and of hope,” Pasakalye Group of Artists representative Maricar Docyogen said.
AGI president Joey Simsim said they are thankful for having been given the opportunity to join the event.
“When we were asked to join, I was happy because my team will have their first exposure since most of our members are first-timers. It was a thrilling scene, because most our members accomplished unexpected masterpieces,” Simsim said.
Through the years, SM City Baguio has continuously supported the local art community as it recognizes the importance of upholding and expressing creativity and culture. Recently, the mall management also welcomed local performers and musicians to freely busk in different areas of the mall to widen their audience.
For more information, visit or message SM City Baguio’s official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/smcitybaguio. – Press release
April 25, 2024
