Creative Alley At Session Road In Bloom: Jumpstarting the Baguio Creative Economy

Baguio City’s creative community is making its presence felt at Panagbenga 2019’s Session Road in Bloom. Artists and artisans finally get a chance to showcase their work and market them at the very first Creative Alley. Located at the foot of the Baguio Post Office steps, the Creative Alley hopes to bring attention to the creative minds of the city and give the public a chance to support local artists by buying their work.

The Creative Alley which consists of around 10 booths, tends to attract passers-by because of its one-of-a-kind setup. This includes a unique archway made of bamboo, paper, string, and found items, crafted by artist Randy Gawwi.

Making Arts and Crafts Accessible

Baguio City’s Creative City status is all about jumpstarting the creative economy so that doing creative work becomes sustainable. For the artists and artisans, this means being able to make and market their work continuously. For the local economy, this means that creative products become a steady and major source of income and revenue.

Over 40 artists and artisans came together under the Baguio Arts and Creatives Collective, Inc. (BACCI) to participate in the Creative Alley. Participating creatives display their handicrafts and masterpieces, ranging from paintings, handpainted T-shirt and jackets, handmade accessories.

On one end of the Creative Alley are local tattoo artists who can make instant Henna tattoos. On the other end are the Pasakalye Artists Group, most of whom specialize in on-the-spot portrait sketching.

One Of A Kind Works of Art

Because all of the items on display at the Creative Alley are handmade, patrons can be assured that they are buying a one-of-a-kind piece of art. Randy Gawwi, aside from his art installation, also has handpainted T-shirts available for sale. Each one is unique and would be great gifts for loved ones, colleagues and bosses.

Mark Saba offers one-of-a-kind necklaces made with rocks, buttons, beads and other random things he may pick up. Some of his pieces also show off his mastery in ironwork and fusing metal together.

Carlo Villafuerte, on the other hand, is known for his fabric art, which he makes out of used clothes and other materials he can think of. He sews these together by hand. Some of his works include handsewn jackets, hats, as well as bigger pieces of fabric artwork.