The Baguio Arts and Crafts Collective, Inc. (BACCI) successfully launched its webinar series on “Creative Talks: Design-led Creative Thinking for our Everyday Life” on May 12, 2021, with the first webinar on Ethnographic Mapping of Creative Assets of Baguio City. Undersecretary Ernesto Abella of the Department of Foreign Affairs and OIC of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) welcomed participants to the online webinar, as well as served as reactor to the presentation.
This webinar is the first of a 4-part series and was made possible with the support of UNACOM, and in partnership with the University of the Philippines Baguio. Dr. Raymundo Rovillos, President of BACCI, and a professor at UP Baguio, moderated the session. Dr. Analyn Salvador-Amores, Director of Museo Kordilyera, also of UP Baguio, shared initial findings on their study on the Ethnographic Mapping of the Creative Assets of Baguio City.
Dr. Rovillos, in his introduction to the webinar topic, cited that these Creative Talks emphasize the importance of design in creativity in everyday life and in planning towards sustainable development. Dr. Amores’ lecture serves to provide the much-needed context for Baguio City and the state of its creative assets, he added.
Creative Cities, Sustainable Cities
Usec. Abella in his welcome remarks highlighted how efforts such as this, which aims to map, develop and plan for the use of creative and cultural assets all contribute to the attainment of one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN: SDG 11 on making cities and communities safe, resilient and sustainable.
Dr. Amores shared the initial results of this ongoing study, including being able to list up to 253 creative assets in the city. Assets can either be individual artisans or groups of artisans or crafters. Of those listed, 53.1% were in the visual, literacy and cultural performance arena, while the smallest percentage belonged to basketry (1.2%).
The study also produced a map of where these creative assets are situated in the city. Among the key findings of the study include how current artisans are struggling in sustaining their creative industries because of the lack of knowledge in terms of marketing and financial management, as well as challenges in passing on their creative know-how to the younger generation.
The webinar was live-streamed on the BACCI Facebook page, and is currently available for viewing for those who missed it. The next webinar of the series is on May 19, Wednesday, 6 to 8pm, and will feature the topic: “The Future is Handmade: Product Design and Craftsmanship in the Digital Age,” with Dr. Monica Alcudia, of UP Cebu leading the discussion. To register for future sessions, click here.