'Crazy’ Baguio arts exhibit ‘Ibagtit’ scheduled Feb 8

By Pigeon Lobien  

BAGUIO CITY – Some 30 artists from at least five mediums will hold a one-of-a-kind exhibit at what is called the media center of Baguio and the Cordilleras – the Luisas Café on Session Road - during the second full moon of the year 2020 on February 8.

The full moon was once said to be the cause of madness, thus the word lunatic from the word luna or moon.

“They will be coming from four art mediums,” said one of the lead organizers Kigao Rosimo, a sculptor, who will be joining Baguio and Cordillera artists in the rare show on Tuesday.

“Everybody is invited to join as long as they bring their artworks with them,” said Rosimo of the event called Ibagtit.

“Bagtit” is crazy in Baguio dialect, a mix of Ilokano, Pangasinense, Tagalog and even highland dialects.

The exhibit will actually be a cause-oriented event especially in mental health issues, thus the title that is also inspired by the Baguio arts festival last November 2019 entitled Ibagiw.

The show will have visual artworks like sculpture, paintings, photography, performance art, music and literature care of the Baguio Writers Group (BWG) led by two-time Palanca awardee for poetry Frank Cimatu, an editor of the local weekly Baguio Chronicle.

The works will be displayed at the walls of the second floor of the café owned by Chongloy Wong, who media call “bureau chief” in what is now known as the Chongloy News Network (CNN).

Photojournalists will be part of the exhibit as they will display their works too.

Veteran painter Roland Bay-an is expected to join the event where performances will be made on particular days especially during the opening which is a Sunday.

Angelo Aurelio is expected to come out with performances not just during the opening day but also during Fridays of the month-long event where visual artists must bring their framed work.

Cimatu will actually lead the poetry readings that will have young poets under the BWG of which he is one of its advisers.

Expected to grace the event’s opening will be the city’s two national artists-- Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera for visual arts and “Kidlat Tahimik” for films.

“It’s a crazy idea but anything that is crazy could work,” said Rosimo, who owns a store at Kidlat Tahimik’s Ili-likha artists village where he sells soaps made of charcoal and activated charcoal which he says could cure any illness.

Rosimo survived prostate cancer using activated charcoal which he mixes with water for drinking and poultice at his groin.

Baguio was declared as a creative city for folk arts and crafts in October of 2017 that led to the creation of the Baguio Arts and Crafts Inc. which now organizes the annual arts festival.

The Diplomat Hotel at the Heritage Hill in Dominican Hill is the venue for the annual festivity and is currently under the care of the city artists so they could now stage more events there, said Baguio mayor Benjamin Magalong who was impressed by the staging of the Ibagiw. (PNA)