Young at art

CEBU, Philippines - A place that is 33 kilometers away from civilization, with mountains in every corner, fresh air and calm surroundings will soon be a hub for future artists.

Errol “Budoy” Mirabiles, the vocalist of the reggae band Junior Kilat, who graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines Cebu, recently got his artist friends to come together and start an advocacy to develop the talents of the younger generations. Budoy and his friends wanted to share their talents in the arts to kids. They decided to push the advocacy to give back to the people the knowledge they acquired from their experiences and the things that they learned from school.

The group, composed of artists from different fields, also asked the help of friends to sustain the advocacy. They decided to teach children who not materially blessed, whose parents don’t have the resources to develop their talents.

Their first students were the kids from barangay Gaas, Balamban, Cebu, whose parents are mostly farmers. The group gathered 25 kids aged 6 to 12 years old at the K33 Zipline since the owner, business Barry Canton, offered the place for the group to conduct the activity. There, Budoy’s group taught the kids some dancing and drawing techniques.

Canton said his recent trip to Indonesia, where he witnessed the fusion of arts and culture, inspired him to offer his place as the venue for the activity. He now even shares Budoy’s dream and both plan to establish a school for the arts in Balamban.

Painting and dancing are some examples of art. Some people are born artists while some get their skills by studying or because they love art. Being an artist is a choice. If you have talent in the arts, you have a choice to develop it or just let it be. One thing is for sure, though. You will not become an artist in just a snap of your finger. You have to work on it and work on it hard. Pursuing a career in the arts is a mix of love and passion and starting it at a very young age is an advantage, for you have all the time to enjoy what you are doing.