They started in 2002 as a mural painting group based in the Bicol region’s province of Sorsogon—home to gentle beaches, the Bulusan volcano, and the delicious pili nut.
“We are multi-disciplinary artists with art advocacies on human rights and the environment,” said Kurit-Lagting acting director Geri Matthew Carretero.
Carretero explained that Kurit-Lagting is an amalgamation of two Bicolano words: “kurit,” meaning to draw or make a mark or write, and “lagting,” the hard nut of the pili which, he said, happens to be the provincial icon of Sorsogon province.
“We want to make our mark as art educators since our activities are community-based. Our aspirations are collective, not individual. We are now busy mounting community-based workshops,” he added.
Kurit-Lagting counts among its founders Allan Abrigo, Peach Dellosa, Joseph Bausa, Kris Abrigo and Carretero, who functions as overall coordinator of the group.
Through art education and practice, the group hopes to cultivate the innate and emergent potentials among Sorsoganons in the arts.
“This is where creativity among them is unleashed progressively, letting them explore and learn new ideas and techniques while having fun.” Carretero said.
Kurit-Lagting formally became an art collective in 2011. The following year, these artists mounted their first major group exhibition at the Kasanggayahan Festival, one of the longest running social events in Sorsogon province.
Exhibiting works on canvas, sculpture, installation art, poetry and photography at the Sorsogon Museum and Heritage Center, Kurit-Lagting’s multi-disciplinary art exhibition was entitled, “Guihapon: An Pagsid-ip (Again: Looking Through).”
A total of 18 artists from Sorsogon, Manila-based Sorsoganon artists, and even some Albay artists participated in the exhibit. They included Jay Jamoralin, Frances Abrigo, Arnel Lositaño, Ervie Villanueva, Joseph Bausa, Allan Abrigo, Marigrace Carretero, Amelita Bernal, Gerald Jintalan, Res Demdam, Gilbert Catabian, Glenn Sentes, Jasper Fisalbon, Rudy Corral, John Estipona, John Lerry Dig, Gerd, Gojar, Maricar Ocleana, Jose Vicente Garcia Jr. and Geri Matthew Carretero, who acted as the exhibit curator.
Carretero said that today, Kurit-Lagting is already a household name in the arts in Sorsogon. “We organize events and workshops dedicated to serve communities; where art can touch the lives of the people and practically influence changes in the society. Right now we are affiliated with Sorsogon Arts Council under the Visual Arts Discipline.”
From an original group of five founders, Kurit Lagting currently boasts of around 30 artist members, extending from Sorsogon to the provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur.
True to their environment advocacy, Kurit-Lagting hosted a virtual screening this June of “The story of plastic,” a video-documentary on the history, development, and effects of plastic pollution around the world.
“We didn’t produce the film. We signed up for a virtual screening for Sorsogon to educate people about plastic pollution. This documentary is very timely because we are currently experiencing a pandemic with the global outbreak of the COVID-19 disease. Entire populations are producing big amounts of garbage; veritable mountains of trash. Rivers and seas get clogged with medical wastes, that also fill our skies with the poisonous emissions from plastic production and processing,” explained Carretero.
He added that since the lockdown, most of Kurit-Lagting’s workshops and exhibits were postponed until the situation improves. “We adjusted fairly well as most of our members and followers are also active on Facebook and other social media platforms.”
Kuragting-Lagting has been busy planning online workshops and digital actions against environmental pollution and incineration. “We are also planning to record sessions on art instruction materials which children can watch over Youtube.”
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