Some 50 young new visual artists will “graduate” form the two months apprenticeship under the eyes of some of the city’s top artists including Jordan Mangusan this Saturday.

Former city councilor Leandro Yangot, Jr. said the graduates of the Free Arts Lessons at the Park have undergone at least seven weeks of learning from the city’s best visual artists that include Hermie Bruno, who was the chief mentor during the apprenticeship’s first weeks at the Sunshine Park last November, during the city’s arts month and celebration of the Ibagiw festival.

By December the free lessons were staged at the Baguio athletic bowl where Mangusan taught them solar painting. Yangot also started free guitar playing lessons there.

During the last weeks of December, the arts lessons were staged at Mount Santo Tomas, where Yangot has a house.

Held from 8 to 10 AM, the young budding artists were also taught water color as medium. Their works were later put on display at the Benguet Electric Cooperative’s Dumo Hall, their first art exhibit.

Yangot in starting the free art lessons at Sunshine Park took to painting in Switzerland during his nearly two years of stay there where his wife, lawyer Cheryl is a labor attache, started with an artist friend holding free art class.

Yangot said: “I thought of launching it when I learned that Baguio is now a creative city.”

He added: “Back in Switzerland, I collaborated with a fellow artist in holding a free art class.”

The free art lessons is conducted in collaboration with the Baguio Educators Arts Guild (BEAG) and in coordination with the Pasakalye Group of Artists.

The Brunos – Hermie and wife Cara – taught landscape painting with acrylic as medium.

He added: “The program aims to develop our human resource in the city into becoming creative artists, and musicians (we have a free guitar lessons class too), too.”

He said that this is the “first series of the many that will come later. We hope to be able to help in our own little ways to make our city a truly creative city.”