Because art isn't easy

When outlining a program, whether it's for an awarding ceremony, an exhibit opening, a convention, or the opening gala of a festival, the first thing that I determine is the story it must tell - and everything else follows, flows from there.

When I was putting together the script for the opening ceremony of Ibagiw: The Baguio Creative Festival 2019, there was one song that I really hoped the emcees, who were all musical theater performers, could sing: Stephen Sondheim's "Putting It Together."  

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a part
Having just a vision's no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together (That's what counts)

In the case of Ibagiw, the portrait I wanted to paint was that of the creative community of Baguio - the diversity, the abundance of artistic talent in the city, the dynamism and the level of artistry that is reached if artists and artisans are given the proper environment in which they could create. 

Ounce by ounce, putting it together

Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art
First of all you need a good foundation
Otherwise it's risky from the start
Takes a lot of earnest conversation
But without the proper preparation
Having just a vision's no solution
Everything depends on execution
The art of making art, is putting it together
Bit by bit

Once the story, or idea/concept or message that must be conveyed has been determined, I go on to work on the setting. The site of the festival - the Old Diplomat Hotel, heretofore more popularly known as a haunted place frequented by tourists hoping for encounters  of the ghostly kind or a perfect backdrop for their Instagram and Facebook posts, provided endless possibilities for this. The opening ceremony shouldn't just take place on a single stage - the audience must be taken on a roller coaster ride consistent with the idea of showcasing the diversity and dynamism of the local art and culture scene. 

Note by note, working on projection
Lips, teeth, throat, looking for a moment to inhale
Keeping the emotional connection
Even when your fellow actors fail
Pointing at the subtext by inflection
Helping your director reach perfection
Even though you have a strong objection
To the way he's handling the direction

Then the plot - there would be a main stage, then we take everyone inside where, at intervals, magic happens in various spaces... choosing Sa Saliw ng mga Gangsa as the theme song was no accident, it was deliberate. There lies the essence of the Ibagiw as an artist - their ideas, concepts, the stories they tell in whatever form, are all deeply rooted to Baguio - the place, the environment, its spirit, its soul, essence, its heritage, history, its culture. 

  

Art isn't easy
Every minor detail
Is a major decision
Have to keep things in scale
Have to hold to your vision
Even though you're feeling apprehensive
That you're looking bland and inoffensive
And you wish your wardrobe was extensive
Don't forget that Spangles are expensive

Let's welcome them with a few pieces from an orchestra, followed by a traditional welcome performance of traditional dances to the rhythm of the gangsa, or gongs. Let them deliver their messages for a brief intermission, then let's get back to the main plot.    

The light, Love
A little to the right, Love
It isn't very bright, Love
And must it be so tight, Love
Thank you, he does that every night
Beat by beat, losing inhibition
Head, hands, feet, trying to relax, but not too much
Trying to lay out the exposition
But without exposing it as such
Trying to perform but not audition
Trying to establish recognition
Trying to persuade the electrician
That he should destroy the competition
Art isn't easy
Every word, every line
Every glance, every movement
You improve and refine
And refine each improvement

Photo by Ric Maniquis

And it's time to put it all together. Let the gangsa establish the beat, a basic Cordillera beat, let the drummer follow that on the high hat. The let the choir join in the intro. Section by section the instruments of the orchestra join in, strings, brass, guitars.. then the drums, a kit and a group of hand drummers. 

  

Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, working out the vision night and day
What it takes is time and perseverance
Dealing with details along the way
Dealing with Producer's interference
Waiting for the Author's disappearance
Filling up the holes with animation
Covering the flaws in the construction
Wiping all the scenic ostentation
Knowing it's a "Macintosh" production
Working for a tiny compensation
Hoping for a thunderous ovation
The art of making art
Is putting it together

Cue the dancers to come in - both modern and indigenous movements danced to harmony created by the coming together of different elements united by a single design.

Song ends, let the gong players lead them inside where a classical pianist welcomes everyone on a grand piano, to be joined by two classical vocalists for a few arias, complementing the classic architecture that's one of the vestiges of the city's colorful history... let the audience breathe, then let a folk singer gather them to open an important exhibit... let a performance artist tel his story...   

Bit by Bit
Part by Part
Fit by Fit
Start by Start, Stride by Stride
Kick by Kick, Glide by Glide
Schtick by Schtick, Side by Side by Side by Side by Side by Side.
And that is the state of the art.

Unfortunately, this Sondheim classic was not performed during the opening ceremony. We tried, but we couldn't reach that certain performance level, and the audience deserves no less than what the artists believe is a work of art that is truly ready and worthy of presentation to an audience. 

And in not performing the song, an important facet of the portrait we wanted to paint was actually presented - the artist whose standards are not defined by any factor - commerce, tourism, parochialism, among others - other than their own artistic sensibility and professionalism.

Because, as Sondheim's song says, art isn't easy.      

FUNDING IBAGIW

Between May and July, the meetings in preparation for the festival were held at the Café by the Ruins Dua on Upper Session Road or at Mt. Cloud Bookshop on Brent Road, courtesy of BACCI chair and president, Adelaida Lim. Heading into the second staging of the creative festival, BACCI, the lead private-sector partner of the city government in staging the festival, had neither an office nor a bank account and zero funds.

TOEING THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS LINE 

I submitted the first projected budget in July, which ran up to P5.9 Million or, with a 10% contingency fund which I usually allot to all projects I manage, about P6.5 Million. After more pencil pushing, on August 12, 2019, we submitted the final proposed budget of P5,370,000.00 to City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente, then the focal person to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and de facto person-in-charge of all Creative City initiatives of Baguio.

The City Government of Baguio committed P2 Million for the festival. We requested for the funds to be released to BACCI which would be then subjected to liquidation, but we were informed that the LGU cannot do this, the disbursement of the funds would be made directly by the City Budget Office. We raised the concern that much of the needs of the festival do not conform to the current procurement process of the government. For example, we intended to commission installation art pieces and under the current procurement process, each “job order” would have to be bid out in a process that’s designed to award the project to the lowest bidder. Besides, the project management team needed mobilization funds. After several meetings, we had no choice but to give in to the conditions set by the City Budget Office. We carried on without any cash on hand.

That’s two million, we needed over three million pesos more to cover all the expenses of the festival.

STARTING FROM ZERO 

The Baguio Arts Collective, Inc., formed in 2018 but only formalized and legalized in early 2019, was still in its infancy. The current organization structure includes a Board of Directors chaired by Adelaida Lim who was also president, officers which included Carl Taawan as Corporate Secretary and Rommel Marcelo as Treasurer and an Executive Committee headed by Maricar Docyogen as Executive Director. In the executive committee are artists representing certain sectors: visual arts, literary arts, woodcarving, weaving, etc.

I was essentially coming in as a third-party service provider as Creative Director and Project Manager, and with me and under our agreement, the whole project management team which included a production manager, stage managers, production assistants and a documentation team, among others. The basic arrangement was in exchange for our services, BACCI would pay us the total project management cost we submitted that was approved by the board and executive committee.

While we have learned that the organization had zero funds available at the time, the assumption was that the organization would be taking care of fund-sourcing – or that at least, it wouldn’t be up to us to source out funds to pay ourselves.

ORGANIZATIONAL, FINANCIAL ISSUES AND OTHER CHALLENGES 

In August, barely four months until the festival, we were faced with a dilemma: while the festival’s rationale, outline and calendar of activities were ready, things wouldn’t move until funds became available, and BACCI had yet to identity personnel to work on that.

Adding to our woes was the lack of an office. Aside from Mt. Cloud Bookshop and Café by the Ruins Dua which was already closing shop to move to a different location, some of our meetings were hosted by Rocky Cating at the family-owned Solibao Restaurant on Session Road. We needed to have a permanent office space soonest. Several options were considered for this, including the newly-built though unutilized museum beneath the flagpole at City Hall, but after inquiring with the City Administrator about the possibility of allowing BACCI to use the space as the festival secretariat, we were told that the city’s legal office beat us to it.

The Baguio Crafts and Productivity Center (also known as the OTOP Center) was forwarded as an option, though the building was in the process of being bid out to a lessee. But upon learning that the bidding process has not been initiated yet pending the finalization of the terms of reference, we wrote the mayor, the DTI Regional Director and the president of the Association of Barangay Captains for permission to use the 2nd floor as an office. Our request was approved, and sometime in September, we moved in.

We had an office, but we still didn’t have mobilization funds. So just to get things moving while we waited for the organization to find a solution to this dilemma, we drafted the first solicitation letter addressed to the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), one of the major contributors to the previous year’s staging of the festival. In that letter dated August 15, 2019, we aimed for the stars and asked for two million pesos to cover majority of the events calendared in the festival. The proposal was essentially approved, albeit with several documentary requirements that BACCI needed to submit but didn’t have at the time, and also with a slightly lower net amount of below P1.8 Million.

One of the requirements for the approval and release of the TPB sponsorship was the organization’s financial statement, which, as mentioned, at the time was non-existent. Despite having a zero-balance, I pointed out the need for a financial statement because since BACCI’s incorporation, it had engaged in activities that involved financial transactions such as when it was provided with free booths during Panagbenga 2019’s week-long trade fair, “Session Road in Bloom,” which, at the time and in fact to date, along with EntaCool, have neither been liquidated nor audited. We raised the concern that without those, we may not be able to secure the sponsorship of TPB.

But even with the TPB sponsorship almost confirmed (we say almost since the contract has not been signed yet pending the required documents), we still didn’t have cash on hand. Whatever we needed, we’ve had to personally provide from representation expenses to office supplies.

Meanwhile, some BACCI officers stepped up starting with board member Brenda Villanueva who donated P2,000.00, followed by then newly-installed board member Venus Navalta who donated P20,000 which was earmarked for the opening of a bank account for BACCI. Rocky Cating lent an extra inkjet printer.

CONFIRMING TPB’S SPONSORSHIP AND BACCI’S LACK OF FINANCIAL HISTORY 

Towards the end of September, while the Tourism Promotions Board has confirmed its intention to sponsor the festival, formal arrangements have yet to be made. I offered to personally meet with Ms. Rona Olaivar, Events Services Specialist of TPB and the person assigned to coordinate the sponsorship at their office in Manila to finalize the sponsorship. One of the concessions I requested TPB was that in lieu of the usual financial statement, could we just submit a bank statement in its place? With the opening of the official BACCI bank account, it was the only document relating to the collective’s financial circumstances that was available at the time. The meeting was held on September 27, 2019 at the TPB office during which we were able to finalize the details of the sponsorship, and I came back up to Baguio with the primary list of documentary requirements that we needed to provide. I say primary because items would be consequently added to that list by TPB.

In one meeting with members of the executive committee, Ms. Maricar Docyogen committed to preparing a financial statement, and also mentioned that BACCI may have around P30,000.00 in revenues from the Panagbenga event.

A meeting was called to form a “Finance Committee” composed of officers of BACCI. In that meeting, Rocky Cating was assigned as head of the committee along with BACCI Treasurer Rommel Marcelo and a report was also finally submitted by Ms. Docyogen detailing the financial circumstances of BACCI’s previous undertakings. She also turned over the amount of P10,000.00 representing, according to the financial statement she submitted, revenue derived from the aforementioned activity.

Executive Ms. Docyogen would eventually beg off from being directly involved in the operation of the organization for the month October due to personal commitments, and many of the other members of the executive committee could not commit to helping with BACCI’s administrative and financial concerns. Rocky Cating would eventually travel abroad. This left Mr. Rommel Marcelo (BACCI Treasurer) who committed to supervising the cash flow of the organization and Mr. Carl Taawan (BACCI Corporate Secretary) whom we have also included in the project management team as Logistics Coordinator. Then there was Ms. Brenda Villanueva, member of the board of BACCI, who volunteered to help with the staging of Jamming on a G-String, one of the major events calendared in the festival and Ms. Adelaida Lim, BACCI President, who made herself available to officially sign documents on behalf of the organization as much as possible.

But BACCI still didn’t have a dedicated marketing or fund-sourcing team. It became apparent that the responsibility of sourcing funds not only for the festival but also for our own professional fees would fall on our shoulders.

MORE FUND SOURCING EFFORTS, PRIVATE SPONSORS RESPOND 

Between the City Government’s and the Tourism Promotion Board’s commitments, we’ve covered roughly 80% of the festival’s financial requirements. We drafted more letters addressed to potential sponsors.

The first to respond was Victory Liner Inc. who agreed to be a major sponsor. And thanks to Ms. Lim’s efforts, this was followed by the entry of HABI – The Philippine Textile Council also as a major sponsor. Then, to our surprise, Boysen Philippines, which usually provided sponsorship in kind (usually in the form of paints and other related products), signified their intention to come in as a major sponsor providing both cash and paints. The regional office of the Department of Tourism committed to covering our printing and other promotional needs, while Converge, a new internet service provider making their presence felt in Baguio, offered connectivity on-site for the duration of the festival.

Towards the end of September, we were still short by two or three hundred thousand, and the team have been consumed by fund-sourcing efforts that the actual execution of the festival’s programs have taken a backseat. We decided to make do with what we had by that time, streamline the line-up of activities, set fund-sourcing aside already, and finally begin pre-production work on the events and activities of the festival.

THE NEED FOR BRIDGE FINANCING 

Time flew in October, but things were finally moving. And then we received word from the Tourism Promotions Board that their sponsorship would be released in the form of reimbursement, meaning after the festival. By this time, all major events were already in motion, financial commitments were piling up and the limited funds available to us from our major sponsors were dwindling fast.

We needed bridge financing, I informed the board of directors and members of the BACCI executive committee. We, members of the project management team, have already advanced over a hundred thousand to cover various expenses. Loaning the needed amount from either banks or private individuals was proposed and approved.

But the lack of financial history proved to be difficult for BACCI to secure a loan.

Board Member Venus Navalta offered to help with this problem by directing her company, IPG Media Brands Chief Financial Officer Nette Samson to assist us in getting a loan. But she could only assist us in getting a loan either from Security Bank or Cashalo, which both required numerous legal documents and collaterals to secure, both of which BACCI did not have. Carl Taawan offered to negotiate with a known event financier for a loan of 200K to 300K, but eventually that financier didn’t have available cash at the moment. Maricar Docyogen would eventually offer to loan the festival 100K – we put that on stand-by because as much as possible, we wanted to secure financing for the full amount we needed so we wouldn’t have to deal with several lenders.

By the time the Undas weekend holiday ended, we were only able to secure an initial loan of P500,000.00, and it wouldn’t be enough to get the festival through its 9-day schedule. It was already November 4, and the opening ceremony was a mere 12 days away.

*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 

We started the project with the organization having no funds, no office, no assets.

We close the books on Ibagiw leaving BACCI with close to P200,000.00 in cash, two officers of the organization compensated, three months’ worth of retainer for an accountant/lawyer, and a functional office.

IBAGIW 2019: IN NUMBERS

Timeframe for the staging of the festival: 4 months 

Number of calendared festival days: 9 

Number of days for pre-festival activities: 5 

Total number of days: 14 

Total number of events, exhibits, performances and other activities: 

18 

Total number of participating artists: 

600+ 

Total amount allotted to participating artists, artisans and institutions/groups in  

the form of honoraria, professional fees and competition prizes: 

P1,794,936.00 (or approx. 43% of the total budget)

*The total above does not include the expenditures by the Department of Tourism – CAR, the breakdown for which was not yet available as of this writing. We shall append the aforementioned breakdown to this report as soon as it becomes available. 

*For this report, the following items were taken out of the breakdown of expenditures shared by the City Budget Office as they were expenses that are not specific to Ibagiw: the Baguio Creative City Festival 2019: Welcome Dinner for the International Conference on Southeast Asian Crafts & Folk Art (P175,000.00) and Artist’s registration fee for the International Conference on Southeast Asian Crafts & Folk Art (P40,000.00).

*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 

Creative Hub vs. Cultural Center

It's not what we build, but what we have left untouched that makes Baguio... Baguio. 

That has always been my credo as a concerned citizen of Baguio, whether it's about defending 182 trees from being killed to satisfy a corporate giant's insatiable greed, or protesting a misguided effort to cement over a wide green space for another concrete monstrosity, or more recently, transforming a heritage site into a communal space that would inspire creativity and forge a stronger sense of community among a very important, often taken advantage of yet largely taken for granted sector of our society. 

In the beginning, there was some opposition to the idea of holding Ibagiw at the Old Diplomat Hotel - it's inaccessible, structurally unstable, its current condition not suitable for an event such as the Baguio Creative City Festival - to cite a few of the reasons forwarded by some of the conveners of the city's lead private sector partner for the project. We were asked to explore other options for the festival's main venue, a couple were floated - Camp John Hay and Baguio Convention Center. The latter was a no-go from the get-go, its renovation hasn't been completed, and whatever has been done already were substandard.

I was supposed to explore the possibility of having it in Camp John Hay, but I really believed that the Old Diplomat Hotel was the perfect site for the festival, and that it would be the perfect opportunity to showcase the possibility of transforming it into a permanent cultural center for Baguio.

Fast-forward to the weeks after the festival - Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong now wants to explore that possibility and asked for a basic conceptual design; the Council for Baguio Creative City has been established and within it a Technical Working Group particularly for the purpose of brainstorming for ideas for this transformation; three concepts have so far been forwarded for consideration.

I'm particularly wary about one proposal for a creative hub that includes, among others, the construction of structures for hotel-like accommodations around the Old Diplomat Hotel, a cable car station and an additional floor on top of the heritage building itself. It worries me because of the social and environmental impact it would have on the community that hosts the site, and equally important, the character that such a proposal would give the site. 

I ask, should the Baguio Heritage Hill and Nature Park be transformed into a Creative Hub or a Cultural Center? 

One would think that it's just a matter of semantics. but it's not. Up until I was practically left with no other choice but to preclude myself in what's supposed to be a collegial body because of the punishment rendered on me when I voiced out what I believed were legitimate concerns, I advocated for a Cultural Center, as follows:

        THE CULTURAL CENTER OF BAGUIO        

In a meeting with the ad hoc secretariat of the Council for Baguio Creative City, coming from a directive from Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong to convene the undersigned together with Mr. Paolo Mercado and Arch. Aris Go, it was proposed that a Technical Working Group be formed to come up with a comprehensive proposal for the renovation of the Baguio Heritage Hill and Nature Park.

There are three main recommendations that I wish to forward in this regard, as follows:

1. DETERMINING PRECISELY WHAT THE OLD DIPLOMAT HOTEL SHOULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO

In conceptualizing the 2019 Baguio Creative City Festival, one of the main ideas that we forwarded was that the event would serve as an audition of sorts – the 9-day festival must explore the possibility of establishing the old Dominican Retreat House as a permanent art and cultural center.

In recent weeks, several exploratory conceptual designs have been forwarded and discussed by the Technical Working Group among them my initial presentation which I have submitted, and Mr. Aris Go’s and Mr. Paolo Mercado’s which were both very interesting concepts though focused on establishing a “Creative Hub” at the Heritage Hill and Nature Park.

The primary distinction between a creative hub and a cultural center, to my understanding, rests on the former’s far wider constituency, while the latter serves a more focused sector of that wider community. Moreover, a Creative Hub, in contemporary context, is primarily concerned with providing for economic activity for the “creatives” while an art center is more focused on providing a venue for artistic and cultural expression. While economic opportunities for artists are welcome, the city also needs a home for what National Artist Kidlat Tahimik calls “Baguio’s artistic soul.”

While the functions and intentions of “Creative Hub” and a “Cultural Center” are similar, the PRIMARY functions and intentions are vastly different.

Therefore, I forward the position that the site be designated primarily as an Art and Cultural Center.

The justification for this position is that the city already has existing centers that serve the different sectors of the creative community – Maharlika Livelihood Center, OTOP Center, ASIN Carvers Village, etc., add to that the proposed “Creative Hub” that is part of the Burnham Park master development plan. But Baguio has yet to establish a public center specifically for culture and the arts.

2. PRESERVING THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FORMER DOMINICAN RETREAT HOUSE

As we actively pursue the transformation of the Old Dominican Retreat House, we must keep in mind that we are utilizing an existing architectural structure and heritage site. Great care must be taken to ensure that we are not, in the process, defacing and mutilating the historic building.

It is recommended that much of the renovations be focused on first and foremost ensuring the structural stability of the building, and secondly, the interiors so as to preserve the structure’s inherent aesthetic value. Its exteriors, particularly its architectural silhouette must be preserved, otherwise, what we’re doing would be a demolition and not a renovation.

3. PHASES AND CONTINUING ACTIVITIES

It can be assumed that the renovation would be done in phases so as to allow for continued activities at the site. But there are several minor renovations that I believe could already be executed to make the venue more conducive to artistic and cultural activities, as follows:

A. Completion of the installation of lighting implements which was not accomplished due to the late arrival of much of the requested materials from the LGU for Ibagiw 2019.

B. For security, the installation of doors at the entrances to the building, or pending this, the deployment of more security personnel to provide 24-hour security to the venue (see visuals below):

Current entrance to the building

Installation of door & windows

Result

Currently, most of the windows at the ground floor are bare

Completion of installation of windows

Result

C. Removal of dividing walls in the rooms on the first floor to allow for the establishment of wider exhibition and performance spaces.

Below is how the ground floor is essentially currently laid out:

By removing the dividing walls in the rooms around the courtyard and the fountain therein, we could immediately establish three art spaces that could immediately be utilized, as shown below:

And outdoor, several artists have expressed their willingness to volunteer and help build a dap-ay:

Current

Installation of a dap-ay

Result

D. The assignment of a permanent office for the administrative staff in charge of management of the proposed activities and events.

E. The purchase and installation of basic technical equipment such as gallery and theater lights, public address system, etc. needed for the staging of artistic and cultural events.

PROPOSED ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

The introduction of the concept of a permanent center for culture and the arts to the community may already be started with events and activities that may be staged in the meantime while a more comprehensive or final plan is being drafted. These events and activities will not only help establish the site as a cultural center but also serve as a prelude to the staging of this year’s Baguio Creative City Festival.

Exploring possibilities given the current status of the structure, the following are proposed activities that may be carried out in the meantime:

1. THE CRAFTS & FOLK ART SHOWROOM - February to November
A small outlet for selected crafts and folk art pieces where visitors can purchase items. The shop shall be carefully and artfully curated to feature the most innovative pieces available in the city.

2. VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS - February to June
The rooms used as exhibition areas could host visual arts exhibits with slots allotted to different art groups and individuals.

3. FILM EXHIBITIONS - February to June
On certain days of the week, the Main Exhibit Hall at the 2nd floor that hosted the Salubong exhibit during the festival could be transformed into a screening room for independent films.

4. THEATRICAL AND LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES - February to June
Various areas could be used for this purpose – open air performances at the courtyard, the festival’s Orengao Hall or the Ibagiw Hall. The venues could be offered to local school and community-based theater groups.

5. ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM - February to June
To further encourage and develop local artists and artisans, especially the youth, rooms could be appropriated for use by selected individuals to serve as their studio for a certain period of time.

6. THE BAGUIO CREATIVE MASTERCLASSES - February – June
With practicing artists and artisans as the target market, a series of clinics and seminars facilitated by experts in various forms of creative expression and craftsmanship.

7. THE BAGUIO SUMMER CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND ART CAMP - First batch in April, 2nd batch in June
With the youth as the target market, a series of day workshops and art camps where students stay in for a whole weekend.

All of the above activities could be executed by BACCI which could achieve the following goals:

1. Provide for a center, a physical space where artists and artisans could gather, explore concepts, collaborate, create and exhibit their works and with this further strengthen the sense of community and unity among Baguio’s cultural community;
2. Provide the community with access to relevant art exhibitions and performances.
3. Keep the momentum going for Baguio’s Creative City initiatives and fulfill its commitments to the UCCN;
4. Provide economic and exposure opportunities for the city’s artists and artisans.

In ending, I share another statement I made on SM City Baguio's then plan to remove a forest for concrete parking building in 2012:

It's not about what you're going to build, but what you're going to kill to build it. 

I hope the city proceeds carefully with the transformation of the Old Diplomat Hotel.

*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 


   

Reactions to the Director’s Notes

In one of the first meetings of the newly formed Council for Baguio Creative City, I was asked to present a general terminal report on Ibagiw. We were still working on the comprehensive terminal report at the time, and what I presented was just an overview. In that same meeting, I mentioned my intention of sharing relevant portions of that report publicly in the interest of transparency and to serve as a guide in succeeding editions of the festival, which was welcomed by the body, particularly its chair, Ms. Adelaida Lim.

When I published the first two sections of the Director’s Notes which touched on the issue of lack of sufficient funding for EntaCool and the sentiment expressed by an artist on being asked to perform pro bono, I received a call from Dr. Raymundo Rovillos during which he informed me that the views expressed in the articles did not sit well with some members of the BACCI Board and Executive Committee. I explained that articles merely presented issues and challenges that we as a community faced in the past and continue to be confronted with today.

This has clearly and undeniably put a dent in my professional relationship with BACCI. And yes, I had a choice – I could have just ignored these issues and pretended that they did not exist. It was perhaps the “safer” path.

Ignore the issue of lack of funding for cultural endeavors and allow it to plague succeeding festivals, exhibits, productions.

Ignore the issue of organizational inefficiency and allow it to continue to get in the way of responding to the needs of artists and artisans.

Ignore the difficulties the creative community experience in getting the government to be more responsive to its needs.

Make the report more palatable, more politically correct.

But this is not the time to stay within our comfort zones. The sincere attention that the current administration is giving art and culture – it’s been a long time coming. Now, with the LGU’s full support behind us, is the time to confront and find solutions to these issues.

With this, I reiterate my position - as long as we continue to gloss over these issues, sweep them under the rug instead of acknowledging them, pretend they don’t exist, we would never find solutions for them and these will continue to hound succeeding initiatives in the future.

And as concerned artists and citizens of Baguio who have been placed at the forefront of these initiatives, it is our shared responsibility to bring these issues to the fore and find solutions for them.



*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 

IBAGIW & BACCI

CAVEAT

I do not assume to be an authority on matters relating to corporate affairs, organizational structures or financial management. But the following observations are predicated on realities we experienced in the course of staging the Baguio Creative City Festival 2019. While the recommendations may be considered to be nothing more than a mere lay person’s suggestions, may be disregarded in view of the abundance of experts and more credible professionals either in the current Council for Baguio Creative City or the specialists that it has engaged, it is my hope that the former, it is my hope that the observations, on the other hand will be given due attention by the CBCC, BACCI, the LGU and other stakeholders.

It is not the intention of this report malign or smear persons, and it does not. What it does is merely present issues that are relevant to our shared desire to forward the collective aspirations and alleviate the plight of local artists and artisans. In the end, we all envision a more vibrant and robust creative community in the City of Baguio.

Revisiting BACCI’s Mission and Vision

The establishment of the Baguio Arts & Crafts Collective, Inc. is one of the best things to happen for the creative community in recent years. With the diminished influence of the Baguio Arts Guild which during the late 80’s and early 90’s placed Baguio on the national and international maps as a relevant center for arts and culture, and past administrations’ neglect of the sector in the last two decades, the city has been needing a force that would galvanize and unite the creative community. BACCI has the potential to be that force. 

Surely, it’s still in its infancy, finding its footing, having been formally incorporated only in early 2019, and there are several actions that could be undertaken to make the collective realize its potentials.

Quoting one of BACCI’s statements, we learn that the collective was formed “to help the city in supporting and giving value to artists and their arts and to create a community that will shelter and encourage them.” Furthermore, on its Facebook page, the profile of the collective states that “BACCI is a platform for cooperation, coordination and sharing between and among the artists, artisans and creatives of Baguio and its environs. It works for an enabling and nurturing environment where creativity and innovation are developed.”

But since its creation for the purpose of serving as the lead organization in the staging of the first Creative Festival in 2018 and its formalization and legalization in early 2019, BACCI, other than the staging of Ibagiw, has yet to take concrete steps to realize the above pronouncements. In fact, at least in the months that I engaged with them as a member of the local creative community and as Creative Director of Ibagiw, no proposals for specific projects to realize those aims were forwarded nor discussed, let alone executed.

To date, BACCI has yet to make amendments to the default template for a corporation’s constitution and by-laws that it has adopted to make it specific to the needs and intentions of the collective. The constituency that it intends to serve has distinct social, cultural, industrial and economic circumstances, and an organization that aims to be responsive must be guided by a constitution and governed by rules that were specifically designed to respond to those unique circumstances.

The effect of this lack of a specific corporate mission and vision, constitution and by-laws cascades all the way down to its officers where positions such as “Executive Director” and sectoral representatives were created and persons were appointed without a clear set of tasks and responsibilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Amend the constitution and by-laws of the organization to be responsive to the actual needs of the community it wishes to serve.
• In the absence of the above, the current Board of Trustees may issue a resolution defining the mission and vision of the collective, along with an outline of tasks and responsibilities for each of its officers.

Restructuring BACCI

With the adoption of the default template for its constitution and by-laws comes the default structure for its officers – President, Vice-President, Secretary and so on. And below that set of officers, an executive committee was created with the general assumption that the members of this committee would be the ones tasked to execute all the projects of BACCI and manage all its administrative concerns.

This has not been the case – whether in matters that are internal to BACCI or with projects such as Ibagiw. While it must be noted that some of its officers have a relatively clearer idea of the tasks and responsibilities association with their positions and execute them efficiently such as the Treasurer and the Corporate Secretary, majority do not. This state of ambiguity impacts negatively on all aspects of BACCI’s procedures.

At times, these positions, along with members of the board, are filled arbitrarily and without due process, with recommendations or directions coming from persons who actually hold no official positions in the organization.

The organization also describes itself as an “open and non-exclusive group” that is “non-hierarchical” and “encourages self-management and self-regulation by artists and creatives.” But the lack of a defined membership process also results in an undefined constituency.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. In addition to the recommendation of defining tasks and responsibilities for each of the collective’s officers, BACCI may also look into streamlining artist representation in its executive committee. In the general assembly held in March, 2019, certain artists in fields of creative expression that have no representation in the current organizational structure asked for inclusion. This was noted in the synopsis of that assembly, but no action has been taken since. This brought to the fore two basic issues: who’s supposed to act on that concern and who else has the collective left out in terms of representation? In this regard, BACCI may limit the number of representatives to umbrella classifications that cover a greater number of creative fields, for example:

• PERFORMING ARTS to cover Theater Artists (actors, directors, playwrights, technical personnel, etc.), Musicians, Dancers, Monologists/Stand-up Comics, etc.
• FILM AND VIDEOGRAPHY to cover Filmmakers, Directors, Screenwriters, Commercial Videographers, Documentarists, etc.
• VISUAL ARTS to cover Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, Photographers, etc.
• LITERARY ARTS to cover Novelists, Poets, Essayists, Bloggers, etc.
• CRAFTS, FOLK ART & LIVING TRADITIONS to cover weavers, carvers, cultural performers, etc.
• NEW MEDIA ARTS to cover Graphic Artists, Animators, Projection Artists, Vloggers, and other creatives that primarily utilizes new technology in creating works
• CREATIVE & CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS/ENTERPRISES mainly to provide representation for institutions whose functions fall within the local creative eco-system such as Easter Weaving Room, Museums, Galleries, Craft Shops such as DL Silver, Pilak, Mayat-an Handicrafts, and yes, even DTI’s OTOP center, etc.

The above are just examples of those umbrella classifications and either some may be merged or more could be added. Certain specific fields of creativity may fall under more than one category, but they may be assigned to one primary category. The sectoral representatives could then elect a Creative Director who will sit in the Executive Committee side by side with the Executive Director. The reason for this is that having one person leading the executive committee may result in a singular point of view when assessing proposals and executing initiatives – that one person may be an efficient administrator but lack the necessary artistic sensibilities needed in an organization that aims to forward creative endeavors, or vice versa.

This organizational structure may be visualized as follows:

Project proposals may come from the general membership which are submitted to the appropriate sectoral representative. Proposals are then assessed mainly by two officers: the Creative Director who assesses the proposal for its artistic merits and the Executive Director who assesses the proposal for its administrative, logistical and financial implications and forward the proposal their recommendations based on their respective assessments.

2. It may now be time for BACCI to revisit its “open and non-exclusive” policy that may sound romantic but is not really responsive to the collective’s mission and vision. The establishment of a membership process will not only provide BACCI with a more defined constituency, member artists, artisans and institutions become real stakeholders and could claim ownership of, participate in and take responsibility for the collective’s initiatives and projects.

In addition, this will enable BACCI to have access to data from its members that could guide them in conceptualizing and initiating projects for the benefit of its members and the whole creative community.

But this is not to say that the organization should only serve the interest of its members, projects such as the staging of the Baguio Creative City Festival benefit the whole creative sector and the rest of the community - it could and should continue executing projects such as this. But members could be afforded increased participation and more benefits – for one, industry representation for those who have yet to professionalize their occupation or creative community-related endeavors.

The above recommendations revolve around instituting reforms that hopefully could improve the efficiency in which the organization executes its projects. The recommended organizational structure is just one suggestion, more concepts could be explored, but the aim remains: BACCI needs to be restructured as the current composition has been proven to be inefficient.

Funding BACCI and Financial Management

One of the main challenges that the project management team of Ibagiw experienced was funding and the lack of a financial management system in place. Although the root of this problem could be traced back to the issue of ambiguity in BACCI’s organizational structure.

As mentioned in the Director’s Notes section of this document, except for the sponsorship of HABI – The Philippine Textile Council which was made possible through the efforts of BACCI President Adelaida Lim and the funding from the City Government of Baguio, all other funding for Ibagiw was sourced and pursued by the third-party Project Management Team.

And when the festival needed bridge financing, it was also the third-party project management team that secured necessary funding, with the approval of members of the board and the executive committee.

This should have been the responsibility of BACCI as an organization, that was clear, but without a clear and specific set of responsibilities for most of its officers, BACCI could not and did not take steps in this direction, even when faced with the possibility of the festival’s cancellation. This would have been the scenario if we didn’t take on the responsibility of soliciting funds to ensure the success of the festival.

In hindsight, as professionals, it may have been more prudent for us to simply abandon the project when it became apparent that the organization that hired us neither had the financial nor administrative capability to fulfill its obligations. But we weren’t merely mercenaries, we were part of the community whose communal interests the festival, and in fact, BACCI, aimed to serve. At the risk of exposing ourselves to personal liabilities, we moved forward not only to ensure the success of the festival but help BACCI fulfill its obligations as the lead private sector partner of the city in this project.

*The above is part of the full terminal report for Ibagiw 2019 that was submitted to the Mayor, the City Budget Office, the Council for Baguio Creative City and BACCI. The full report is published here. 

To the Mayor and the Baguio Arts & Crafts Collective, Inc.

First, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the honor of being designated as the Creative Director of Ibagiw: The Baguio Creative City Festival 2019 and as Consultant to the Creative Desk from June to December, 2019. This endeavor has brought to the fore issues affecting the creative community that present opportunities, challenges and invaluable insights that could help us in our efforts to forward Baguio as a haven for art and culture.

Secondly, I would also like to share that in the last few weeks, the professional relationship between myself and the leadership of the Baguio Arts & Crafts Collective, Inc. (BACCI) has become untenable. And while the recent Council for Baguio Creative City meetings seem to have established the assumption that I am once again being designated as the director of this year’s staging of the festival, this unfortunate development regrettably renders that assumption unfeasible, BACCI being the officially designated lead private sector partner of the LGU for this particular project.

With this, I hereby submit to you the Terminal Report for the staging of Ibagiw: The Baguio Creative Festival 2019 in fulfillment of my final obligation as the director of the festival and as consultant to the Creative Desk. The report chronicles the journey we took in staging Ibagiw from conceptualization to conclusion. And in line with both my positions as festival director and consultant, the report also includes observations and recommendations on several areas of concern that I believe are vital to the development of Baguio’s creative community and economy.

Given the current circumstances, it is with much regret that I inform you of my decision to take a step back and preclude myself from further involvement in the staging of this year’s Baguio Creative City Festival to give BACCI a free hand to appoint a director that they can comfortably work with.

In addition to this, the facts that 1) the position of Consultant was essentially also meant to provide for artist representation in the Creative Desk and 2) my appointment was made possible by the endorsement of BACCI as the acknowledged organization that is supposed to represent the city’s artists and artisans, I also believe that delicadeza and prudence dictate that I also relinquish this official designation again to allow the organization to appoint a person more suitable to their preferences.

Thirdly, in view of all of the above, I also believe that my continued presence in the Council for Baguio Creative City, whose primary members are, or at least up until the conclusion of Ibagiw, were also the conveners of BACCI, may just get in the way of the harmonious working relationship that the committee needs in order to efficiently serve the interests of its constituency. Acknowledging my own deficiencies in working within the preferred parameters of its primary private sector conveners, I hereby forward my resignation from the CBCC.

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to you, Sir, for your advocacy to uplift the local creative community, which I share, and for your sincere efforts in this area, which I shall continue to support in my personal capacity, both as a concerned artist and citizen of Baguio.

-KMA