BICOL, PHILIPPINES — Members of the Kurit-Lagting Art Collective renewed their calls for a clean and green environment by breaking free from plastic during an exclusive online discussion on Artmaking and Zero Waste Lifestyle amidst Covid-19 which was held via zoom on Friday.
The event encouraged the government, consumers, and e-commerce companies and corporations that sell art materials and other items to commit and practice concrete forms of environmental sustainability.
“As artists, we are calling for transparency on plastic packaging waste in our communities and to reduce current waste production by exploring reusable and returnable packaging and incentives for both buyers and sellers who purchase online,” said Allan Abrigo, co-founder of Kurit-Lagting.
“We also need our policymakers and local government units to promote genuine solutions to curb plastic production and consumption and should not promote dirty solutions such as incineration and thermal treatment,” added Geri Matthew Carretero, Art Director of Kurit-Lagting.
During the onset of the pandemic, the art group has been leading a series of webinars, trainings, workshops, music production, and exhibits as their contribution to the worldwide environmental preservation efforts. One of the recent projects of the collective is a collaborative mural initiative titled Bloom in the New Normal with YES-O (Youth for Environment in School Organization) as part of DepEd’s project Back to School: Let a Million Flowers Bloom, at Pangpang Elementary School in Sorsogon City.
According to Mrs. Andrelyn Chavez-Guansing, Pangpang Elementary School teacher and head of the initiative, “We would like to inculcate love of nature and art appreciation to everyone, especially to our learners, once they go back to school. We believe that this mural project together with Kurit-Lagting would help in local awareness and action as part of the solution against environmental threats.”
“During this pandemic, single-use plastic such as sachets is one of the causes of pollution in our communities that clogs our waterways and rivers. Thus through art, we aim to create meaningful change for the society by raising public awareness of critical environmental issues,” ended RJ Abrigo, member of the Kurit-Lagting.
The members of the art collective are also partnering with other art groups and cultural organizations in the Bicol Region to create impactful artworks while highlighting important social and environmental causes. The Kurit-Lagting is a collective artistic collaboration of Bicolano artists from Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate and Camarines provinces with art advocacies on human rights and the environment. The Art Collective is a member of the Sorsogon Arts Council under the Visual Arts Discipline.
