Creative festival fair to showcase ‘latag’ artistry

A handicrafts market and fair dubbed “Latag” will be conducted on Nov. 11-18 at the People’s Park as part of the activities of the 2018 Baguio Creative Festival (ENTAcool).
At least 50 local crafters and artisans will participate in the fair to display and sell their unique crafts “latag”-style daily from 3pm to 9pm during the week which they also marked as the “Latag Creative Market Week.”
“Since latag is the practice of spreading out blankets, bed sheets or fabric on the ground and placing crafts for sale for easy pick-up and transport, the artisans will use no fancy tables and chairs, just hard work and unique hand-made items crafted on-the-spot,” organizer Maricar Docyogen said.
“Each artist will sell one-of-a-kind items that are not found in malls or department stores because artists are recognized through their own work, a trademark, so to speak,” Docyogen added.
Among the wares are handicrafts, woven accessories, basketry, “anik-aniks,” decors, self-printed poem and prose collections, bookmarks, metal crafts, jewelries, coin banks, hand-painted shirts and others.
Docyogen said the artists are members of the “latag” group which was formed in 2002 and sold their handicrafts made from materials that were thrown away such as animal bones, plastic bottles, found objects and recycled materials and also of leather, fabric, beads and buttons fashioned intodo-it-yourself necklaces, earrings, bracelets and cellphone pouches along the pavement of Session Road at night.
“Other entrepreneurs realized the potential and brought out at night their wares to have a share of the potential income from night shoppers. Eventually, their number grew and they occupied more streets prompting the city government to regulate their operation that eventually gave rise to the present Night Market but sadly, out of the 1,000 slots, less than ten went to the artisans,” Docyogen related.
Through this “Latag” fair, the group hopes that the latag culture and creative economy will thrive with the continued support of the government in line with the city’s designation as a Creative City under the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Other activities under the Creative Festival which will open on Nov. 10 are:
Nov 3-18, “Uma ART eh 2” Art Exhibit at the Main Gallery Tam-awan Village; Nov 8-18, Baguio Crafts Gallery of local weaves and metal crafts) at the OTOP Philippines Hub; Nov. 10-18, “Kulay ng Siglo” (Visual and Media Arts Gallery and Workshops), Dominican Hill and Retreat House; Nov. 10-18, Creative Crawl Tour City-wide Creative Spaces Guided Tour, Terminal Station at Harrison Road, Melvin Jones; Nov 10-18, Talastasan Series on Art and Creativity at Teatro Amianan, UP Baguio; Nov 11, 9am, Forest Bathing (Personal retreat with nature to immerse in the forest atmosphere for unwinding and health improvement) at Yellow Trail, John Hay; Nov 11, 4pm, Opening of the Bell House Photo & Visual Arts Gallery at Bell House, John Hay; Nov 11-18, Experiencing Silver and Metal Crafts Making (Demo and workshop on silver and metalcrafts with local artisans) at Pilak Silvercrafts; Nov. 11-18, Street Art sa Pasakalye, Bookends, T. Claudio St.; Nov. 12, 9am, Teatro Amianan, UP Baguio; Nov. 12, 9am, “Mentor Me on Wheels” (Entrepreneurial Mentorship for the Creatives, SM Baguio; Nov. 12-Jan.6,2019, Bell House Photo Gallery  at Bell House, John Hay; Nov 12-18, “Ay Apo!.. May Shooting sa Baguio” Independent Film Festival at Balanghay ni Ikeng at Ili Likha, Assumption Rd.; Nov 12-18, Tie-Dye Exhibit & Workshop by at Winaca Eco-Cultural Village, Tublay; Nov 12-18, Traditional Weaving Demo, Easter Weaving Room Inc.; Nov 12-18, Tinatik Art Exhibit & Workshop at Villa Romana; Nov. 13, 6pm, “Inabe ed Bilig”Cordillera Weave Fashion Show, Malcolm Square; Nov. 16, Booklatan sa Bayan in Baguio Mini Book Fair & Storytelling Sessions, IB Lobby, UP Baguio; Nov. 16, 6pm, Anido Artists’ Night, Dominican Hill & Retreat House; Nov 17, 9am, “Harnessing the Power of the Sun” solar art demonstration at Main Gallery Tam-awan Village ; and Nov 18, 5pm, ENTAcool Creative Rambakan Culminating Cultural ShowCulminating Show, Malcolm Square. Aileen P. Refuerzo / ABN

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