ODDITY

Second wave of the ‘Art in the Park’ with Alexander Musni, the differently-abled artist

by Stefanie Ogayon and Krizia Mae Pagusan

Second wave of the ‘Art in the Park’ was officially opened last Saturday, February 15, at
the People’s Park, Baguio City, organized by the Pasa-kalye Group of Artists headed by Ms.
Maricar A. Docyogen with the purpose of promoting and introducing art to the public.

‘Art in the Park’ under the program Baguio in Bloom, is an annual activity of the
organization that is associated with the Panagbenga activities. With 45 artists in the
organization, the 4-weekend event will have different set of artists to showcase their talents and
sell their artworks to earn income and primarily earn money to help patients around the city.

Roland Bay-an, Buddy Cabrera, Willy Teves, Silvino Dunuan together with differently-
abled artist Alexander Pastrana Musni, and other members of the organization piloted an on-
the-spot painting called ‘Plein Air’ painting session where they paint objects they see around
them.

Alexander Musni became the center of interest by his passion to paint despite of not
having arms and legs. His artworks are the means of his income and painting is a platform to
share a part of his life. He was recommended by the organization’s veteran artist, Roland Bay-
an, as his works and crafts are developed through the help of the Pasa-kalye Group of Artists.

“Despite of his condition, he strives to try to come up with good interpretation of his
works. And this is a non-discriminatory group which means, everybody is welcome and we are
looking for their talents and potentials. The condition of an artist doesn’t matter,” Docyogen said.

‘Art in the Park’ is organized to show the public how art is done and showcased the
happenings behind the title of Baguio as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Creative City.

The Pasa-kalye Group of Artists is an organization of local artists of Baguio who bonded
together initially to help patients through the sales of their works. With the ‘Art in the Park’
activity, the organization aims for the support of the citizens of the city and promote the
importance of art to the public. Consequently, the Pasa-kalye youth artists will also be joining on
the third and fourth days of the event – February 21 and 22, 2020 that will start at 9 o’clock in
the morning and will end at 4 pm.
ODDITY