A roster of impressive contemporary artists, with works that range from terracotta to sound art, line this year’s Alimuom Contemporary Art Exhibit at the 4th Ibagiw Creative Festival held in Baguio City, Philippines.

The exhibition officially opened last November 13, at the Basement Gallery of the Baguio Convention Center, and is led by Fara Manuel-Nolasco, a professor at the University of the Philippines-Baguio Fine Arts Program.

Inspired by “alimuom,” or petrichor, which is the pleasant scent that emanates from the earth following a gentle rain, the exhibit is all about evoking emotions and awakening memories. 

“The gentle rains inspire spaces of comfort, spaces of nostalgia and care, and somehow it relates to the very fragile ecology that we are beset with,” Manuel-Nolasco says of the theme in the welcome video to the exhibition.

In an effort to develop and promote its status as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, as conferred by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Ibagiw Creative Festival is an annual multi-day event held by the Creative City Council of Baguio City to support and celebrate the creative community.

Last year, the theme of the exhibit was “interlinked,” a look into the connection members of society continue to have with each other despite social distancing protocols and lack of physical contact.

Alimuom was open to viewing until December 12, 2021 at the Basement Gallery of the Baguio Convention Center.