Jansen D.

Abad

The Current State of the Philippine Art Industry

Sadly, our art industry has been more celebrity-centric lately. I think that it is harmful

for the industry to focus its production on only a mere set of people. Not all Filipinos are

famous, much more a celebrity. We should let all kinds of artists thrive in their own

industries and keep one from dominating another especially if their being known is for a

reason that is not related on their craft. Take Richard Gomez for example, I don’t have to

research what exact creation he did that made him known in arts because it was all over the

news when he made it. To me, as an artist myself, what he did was overrated and it did not

deserve all the attention it got at all. Instances like that are very demeaning to other smaller

artists so we should avoid it as much as possible.

Artists need support in many aspects in the industry. I think that everything starts with

education. Let artists get the proper schooling to learn and train different kinds of skills that

will help them grow and improve their craft. Make art a valid profession, remove the stigma

that there is no money in art. Invest in the art industry, make animation studios where many

Filipino animators work and produce their own shows or movies, build more local art

museums, and also invest in making our own local art materials so Filipino artists don’t have

to buy more expensive imported products. Lastly, give our Philippine art history the

importance and recognition it deserves. It should always be remembered and celebrated by

every Filipino because it is our pride and culture.

Meritocracy by definition does glorify the talented in a system, making them be the

pinnacle of achievement and recognition. Yet I disagree that it is important in the arts. The

same with how we reject elitism in society, I am critical of basing our social structure with
who is better versus who is not. Everyone have their own talents and skills and they are

immeasurable. There is no objective reasoning with meritocracy because art is subjective.

Everyone deserves equal recognition of their talents and efforts in contributing in the art

industry.

Contests, exhibits, festivals, etc. are essential in enriching the arts. These activities

reflect the energy of this industry especially in the Filipino context. We are known as a happy

and fun nation, it is only natural for us to celebrate arts in all shapes, sizes, or forms. These

also cultivate positive perceptions within the community. This is where artists and non-artists

could interact together and share the joy of art and creativity with one another.

In the topic of art in teaching, the most that I would like to be filtered out in artworks

that would be used in my education are biased and bigoted works that are either offensive or

derogatory to subjects like politics. Filipino views collectively are not the most progressive

compared to other countries’. It’s important for students like me to be presented with works

that are critical as well as educational in all aspects of our society. For example, artworks

with racism should be filtered out. Basically as long as it’s not offensive or displeasing I

think that they are fine. Another one are artworks that are not meant to be reused. Usually in

the internet, people are comfortable with re-posting artworks that isn’t theirs. If you agree

that that is a bad practice then you should also agree that reusing or reprinting in learning

materials random artworks you found online is careless and wrong.

I don’t know about other people but I can say that I am not influenced by patronage

and commodification with my exposure and relationship with arts. For me, our artistic

capabilities are innate, education only hones it. Within our education system, looking back

from when I was in preschool to now that I am in college, art was never forced upon me. You

either love it or hate whether or not you’re a good or bad artist. From my experience with art
in school, it is just something that we do and we are free to do what we like with it, there is

no patronage there nor commodification.

Speaking as an artist myself, I observed that the more artists there are in a community,

the greater the people around them appreciate art. It’s like creativity pools in those groups of

artists and it bleeds out to other members of their society. Art is very social and

communicative. It connects people. It’s very easy to appreciate and love. It really energizes

me to create and celebrate art when I see other people do it too. Our environment shapes the

Filipino art appreciation by being positive and giving back the good vibes that people puts

towards it.

As a Filipino college student, my cultural capital are my skills in arts and music. I

have been investing my time and energy learning and practicing to better at them. Now, those

efforts are paying off. How did I know? Well I’m proud to talk about them here! I can play

most stringed instruments, guitars, I sang vocals, anything you need in a band. I have the

experience of performing since I was in first grade. That’s more than a decade already. I also

have a talent with drawing. Again, how did I know? Well it’s because I’m always working on

it. I’ve been drawing since I was in elementary too but I never thought I wanted to be better at

it until I was about 15 years old. And since then I’ve received nothing but support and

compliments from my family and my peers. They are truly cultural capital because they

helped me with socializing and being proud of myself that other people would also start

appreciating my interests with me.

In conclusion, the current state of our art industry is a work in progress. We should

look forward to its growth because there are young Filipinos, students like me, who care and

want it to be better.