MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 13 September) – Bukidnon artists are reviving a campaign to have the province declared by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Soil Painting Capital.”
The effort kicks off with a soil painting activity on September 21 on the Centennial Stage at the provincial capitol grounds in Malaybalay City.
Datu Salakup Rodelio “Waway” L. Saway, president of the Bukidnon Local Artist Kulektib (BULAK), said they have tapped over 200 artists for the initial activity.
The provincial government of Bukidnon, he added, allotted P500,000 for the project as part of the Bukidnon Provincial Culture and Arts Week Celebration.
He said they plan to officially apply next year for the Guinness World Records and invite an adjudicator for the event.
He said they intend to hold the soil painting festival in time with the United Nations’ World Soil Day, which is held on December 5 every year.
Saway told MindaNews on Friday that there is more to the purpose of promoting art and culture through soil painting in the province.
“(The promotion of) soil painting is just a gateway to make people understand the value of the soil, how important is the soil to humans. Plants will not grow without topsoil. Let’s protect it from erosion. In the bigger picture, we can also use this to promote the need for reforestation,” he added during a phone interview.
The campaign was first initiated in 2013 “to showcase Bukidnon’s beauty through art to the world.”
Local artists had been working towards making the province the “Soil Painting Capital of the World” at that time, but the bid was deferred due to lack of funds.
“We weren’t ready yet,” Saway explained in a 2014 interview. “We had to wait for the right time.”
Saway has promoted soil painting, an art form that utilizes natural materials and colors found in the soil of the artists’ ancestral domains. He emphasized that Bukidnon is home to original and authentic soil painters, with artists boasting “wide consciousness about visual arts.”
Saway sees art, particularly soil painting and music, as a way to put Bukidnon on the world map. “Art can be a legacy for the youth and empowers development,” he said. He believes that with enough attention, “arts and music will be the flag carrier of the province.”
“This will bring honor to Bukidnon, especially when artists and musicians perform abroad,” he said.
He emphasized that “inclusive and convergent efforts” are key to using arts and music to attract tourists, a vital driver of development.
The 2013 campaign aimed to create at least 5,000 soil paintings depicting Bukidnon’s culture. To achieve this goal, workshops promoting soil as an art medium began in April of that year as a prelude to a planned “Soil Painting Festival” during the Bukidnon Centennial celebration in September 2014.
Saway envisions showcasing these artworks not just in museums and exhibits but “also in government and nongovernmental offices, business establishments, and even in every home in the province.”
“Let’s make soil painting the flag-bearer of Bukidnon culture, so that everything else will follow, para ang farmers mabuhay (so farmers will survive), mga magtanom ug gabi ug kape mabuhi (so that taro and coffee farmers will survive),” he said in a previous interview.
The concept of soil painting began in 1993 when Saway, along with fellow artists Tatting Soliva and Egay Dy, experimented using soil during a clay art workshop.
Talaandig visual and music artist Marcelino “Balugto” Necosia highlighted the versatility of soil as an art medium. He explained that soil comes in various colors, including brown, black, grey, red, maroon, orange, yellow, sky blue-like, and green, depending on the depth of the source.
Bukidnon celebrates Provincial Culture and Arts Week every second and third week of September pursuant to Provincial Ordinance No. 2017-048R, Section 04. (MindaNews)
