Creative Cebu

To put the spotlight on its creative industries and activities, Cebu was chosen as the country’s pilot area for British Council’s Creative Cities program.

The Creative Cities program is what the British Council offices in East Asia, China and the United Kingdom set up to shore up UK’s thrust to campaign for the creative economy as driver of economic growth in the 21st century.

It is a regional project that looks to develop a range of partnerships by cultivating essential features of a creative city such as “openness, cultural diversity, great design, and dynamic leadership at many levels, creative entrepreneurship, transformed public spaces and artistic re-imaginings of how our cities could be,” said Ana Tan, the British Council’s program manager-public relations, in an interview.

It kicked off March of this year via a trip to the UK wherein 25 leading figures in East Asia ­– including multi-awarded Cebuano entrepreneur Jay Aldeguer for the Philippines – saw first-hand how identified creative cities in the UK benefited from businesses within creative industries. Neglected neighborhoods experienced economic rebirth as businesses opened art galleries and fashion boutiques and mounted design festivals to draw in tourists and creative entrepreneurs to settle within the area. On their return to their respective countries, the representatives were asked by the British Council to help identify creative cities for the program.

“When the Philippines was deciding on a place to call its creative city, several places came to mind. The list of potential cities included Manila, Silay (Negros Occidental), Vigan (Ilocos Sur), Liliw (Laguna) Paete (Laguna), Davao City and Cebu City,” Tan said. “After careful consideration and with much discussion, it was decided that Cebu was the perfect choice given its history of successes in the arts and its long list of creative entrepreneurs recognized the world over.”

After undertaking several exploratory trips and focus group discussions, it was also decided that the project could not possibly be contained on a city-level, but has to extend province-wide. Thus, “Creative Cebu” was born.

In 2005, there was a team under then DTI Secretary Cesar Purisima that pushed for a creative industries initiative that was to involve a mapping exercise for Manila and the entire Philippines, but it fell through. This year, the British Council, which was then part of the team, took upon itself to revive the initiative.

So the British Council commissioned the De La Salle School of Design and Arts to run a mapping exercise to determine the island-province’s creative industries and how much income is generated from them. The results of the mapping exercise will be released late this year.

The Creative Cebu program will be unveiled in grand fashion through a week-long event that the British Council is organizing for March 5 to 12, 2009, wherein some 60 to 70 influential industry players from eight countries in East Asia (Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam), China and the UK are expected to attend.

“As delegates meet the creative entrepreneurs of Cebu, it will be an opportunity to build business relationships and see available creative business opportunities,” says Tan, who added that the event follows on from a series of trips planned within East Asia to showcase various creative cities in it. The first to host in East Asia was Bandung, Indonesia last August. A mix of entrepreneurs, media, policy makers and members of the academe were present to witness how Bandung has become an emerging creative city for Indonesia.

With preparations taking concrete form this early for the March event, a creative entrepreneur network is also shaping up with Aldeguer, president of Island Souvenirs, Inc., at the helm. Aldeguer, a finalist in the British Council’s first International Young Design Entrepreneur awards in London three years ago, said that the network involves the entire artistic and creative community of Cebu – publishing, literature, visual arts, performing arts, among others. He hopes that with a sound and organized creative pool, it will be easier to provide industry players with broader opportunities not limited to their homeground. They can also address the need to provide a venue for creative start-ups and “starving artists” to make it to the international arena.

Aldeguer stressed that, without bias, he felt proud to push the province to become the creative hub of the country, as a lot of Cebuanos have made names in the international market through their designing talent – Monique Lhuillier, Kenneth Cobonpue, Gil Carungay (Avatar), Bigfoot, among others. He said that the Creative Cebu program should be fitting as its local economy is powered by companies with core competencies in creativity, like the furniture, fashion accessories, home furnishings, outsourcing (animation), etcetera.

Creative Cebu’s unveiling will also be in time for the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (Cebu X) 2009, another venue to showcase the province’s strength and edge in creativity to the international visitors.