Taguig City hosts world’s biggest street art festival: Senator Alan Peter “Compañero” S. Cayetano applauded the talent of 40 Filipino street artists as “world class” in their showcase of street art, graffiti, and murals at the ‘Meeting of Styles’ festival that the City of Taguig hosted over the weekend, May 19-21, 2023.
MANILA — Senator Alan Peter “Compañero” S. Cayetano applauded the talent of forty Filipino street artists as “world class” in their showcase of street art, graffiti, and murals at the ‘Meeting of Styles’ festival that the City of Taguig hosted over the weekend , May 19-21, 2023.
Acclaimed as the world’s biggest street art festival, the ‘Meeting of Styles’ festival was held along Laguna Lakeshore, where the artists repurposed container vans — that were previously used as COVID-19 quarantine facilities — as their new canvas.
“Pinoys are really world class! Even our visiting artists are happy with the creativity of us Pinoys,” the senator praised in a Facebook Live as he joined his wife, City of Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano in the art festival.
He added, “It actually doesn’t take much. Millions of money are not necessary, what is really needed is heart, love for God, for others, and of course, talent!”
The forty (40) Filipino artists who joined the artfest came from Taguig and different parts of the Philippines. Ten (10) other international artists also joined the festival and helped spruce up the quarantine facility area with colors.
In a conversation with Trip, one of the street artists in the event, Cayetano talked about how graffiti, street art, and murals are now emerging as distinct and full-fledged art forms as they become more visible in different cities around the country.
“Now everyone is seeing the beauty of it [street art] and its expression. The world is your canvas for the right messages and expression for the community,” the senator said to Trip.
In the same video, City of Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said the city government is looking forward to involving the Department of Education (DepEd) in exposing the youth to the arts.
“We want to start young. The younger they are and the more they can be exposed to art, the better,” the mayor said.
Mayor Lani also commended the DepEd officials from Taguig-Pateros, who were present in the event, for their support in involving the youth with the arts.
“We are happy that the DepEd of Taguig and Pateros are onboard when it comes to the art. They understand the importance of arts in complementing the academic side of a child’s knowledge,” she said.
Other city officials who participated and showed support in the event were Taguig-Pateros Representative Ricardo “Ading” Cruz, City of Taguig Vice Mayor Arvin Alit, District 1 and 2 Councilors, DepEd OIC SDS Dr. Cynthia Ayles and Assistant SDS Quinn Norman Arrezza, DepEd Art Teachers, and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in Taguig.
E-governance
Meawhile, the lawmaker also expressed hi belief that e-governance can be a “game-changer” in the Philippines but said both the public and private sectors should work hard together to implement it fully in the country.
“We must see e-governance as a blessing to our country because it makes government services more efficient, less prone to corruption, and more inclusive,” Cayetano said ahead of a committee hearing on Monday (May 22, 2023) of the Committee on Science and Technology which he heads.
“But we must truly want to have e-governance if it is to become reality. We must demand it from government,” he added.
Cayetano said Monday’s committee hearing will pursue the issue of how to modernize the country’s digital infrastructure “to ensure that all Filipinos have access to affordable, quality, secure, and up-to-date information and communication technologies.”
This includes how the government and the private sector can work together to make sure there is reliable and affordable broadband internet service for everyone and that internet-enabled devices are made available at affordable prices.
(Amado Inigo/mtvn)
