Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda has proposed an ordinance tasking the City Environment Parks Management Office to designate a site along Mansion Lake at Romulo Drive as a permanent artists’ hub.
According to the proposed ordinance, activities related to arts and crafts shall be conducted on Saturdays and Sundays in the area designated as the artists’ hub.
The proposal stated no fees shall be charged to the users. However, they must abide by the rules and regulations to be set by the Cepmo to ensure cleanliness and sanitation in the area.
The proposed ordinance was referred to the committee on tourism, special events, parks, and playgrounds for review.
Earlier, the city council passed Resolution 571 s. 2021 with the same objective as the proposed ordinance. The request of the city council for the designation of an artists’ hub was implemented by the Cepmo but only until December 2021.
Tabanda proposed the artists’ hub should be permanent.
On Oct. 31, 2017, Baguio became the first city in the Philippines to be designated by the Unesco as a creative city for crafts and folk arts.
In 2020, a profiling study of the creative industry artists of Baguio City was published by Renen Szilardo de Guzman of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
In his research, de Guzman said Baguio artists receive limited programs, events, funds, and support systems for artists from the government.
He suggested for Baguio City to emulate Copenhagen’s initiative in deregulating and devising spaces for creative occasions. Creative spaces can be used by artists to work and express themselves to make public spaces more art-friendly, potentially exposing city people to artistic endeavors.
In recent years, the city government of Baguio has ramped up its initiatives in putting into place programs for Baguio artists. The city council has legislated a number of resolutions and ordinances in support of the Baguio creatives.
Aligned with the vision of the city government to turn the city into a sustainable and creative hub, the city council passed the Creative Baguio City Council Ordinance (Ordinance 46-2021).
Section 4.E. of the ordinance states that the Baguio Creative Council shall establish creative centers in the city as brand production spaces to be funded and managed by the city government in partnership with other government organizations for the promotion of local and indigenous arts and crafts. – Ariel John Suba
April 25, 2024
