CEBU – Spark starter and art enabler Create Cebu is at it again with CRISSCROSSINGS: Creative Convergence on January 12-14, 2018 happening at Crossroads Cebu and ECCP Matic.
Building on its first edition held in 2015, the 2018 reboot will be a 3-day gathering celebrating creative entrepreneurship, art, design, and maker culture in the Queen City of the South.
As one of the main highlights, the event will feature a Creator’s Market displaying Cebuano products and services. It will also be hosting various talks and workshops geared towards advancing creative skills. Among them will be the Grow Cebu Music: The Summit and Concert, which aims to gather and strengthen the local music community whilst developing an audience for Cebuano talent.
“We’re hoping to bridge art and industry which will make the creative economy in Cebu flourish. We’re really passionate about nurturing the Cebuano identity through creative entrepreneurship” says Cecilia Martinez-Miranda, one of the co-conveners of Create Cebu.
Kae Batiquin, another of the organization’s leaders says, “One of the main goals of the event is to improve Cebu’s livability through creativity and the arts. We believe that art has a role to play in uniting Cebuanos, especially the creative sector, to create more that would boost Cebu’s image as the country’s creative capital and its standing amongst other ASEAN creative communities.”
CRISSCROSSINGS intends to promote Cebu as an ASEAN destination for culture and the arts as as well as contribute to its chances of being recognised as a UNESCO Creative City.
CRISSCROSSINGS 2018 is made possible with the support of DTI Region 7, A SPACE Cebu and the European Chamber of Commerce Cebu.
Crossroads Mall is located along Gov. Cuenco Ave., Brgy. Kasambagan, Cebu City, Cebu PH, 6000.
For more information, contact: Create Cebu (c/o Cecilia Martinez-Miranda) at 0917 811 1571 or via email at hello@createcebu.com.
WHY CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MATTER
According to Tom Flemming Creative Consultancy, “Depending on how they are defined, the Creative Industries are estimated to represent anywhere from 3% to 12% of global GDP (all UNCTAD). The rapid growth of the sector originates from an increased demand for distinctive goods and services, including for leisure, in part an effect of the world’s expanding ‘middle-class’ and the increase in disposable income; as well as the expansion of digital technology which is opening up multiple new channels and platforms for contents storage, distribution and production.
Although growth has slowed in some regions through the global economic crisis and subsequent downturn, overall the creative sector continues to grow. This growth is most pronounced in emergent economies and particularly in those with access to large markets, strong global connections, distinctive and productive cultural sectors, and rapid digitalisation; this is certainly the case in the Philippines. Even without the benefits of a coordinated mapping study, the Philippines’ creative industries sector is large, diverse, dynamic and growing. “
The presenters and partners of CRISSCROSSINGS 2018 believe that the Creative Industries can play a transformational role in driving local socio-economic growth and innovation within Cebu City and across the Philippines as a whole.
WHY CEBU
In 2008, Cebu City was recognized by the British Council as the Creative Capital of the Philippines and is currently a member of The Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network (SEACCN), a network for creative cities and clusters in Southeast Asia. This network includes representatives from the cities, agencies,specialists, experts, groups and communities. The initial members include George Town (Penang, Malaysia), Bandung (Indonesia), Cebu (Philippines), and Chiang Mai (Thailand). The network was informally founded in April 2014 in Chiang Mai and an MOU was signed in August 2014.
