SOFT No. 4
Centering on art and mental health, SOFT’s fourth installment last December 14th remained to be its most meaningful and purposeful yet. Fusing both art and Psychology gave an avenue not only for mindful self-expression but to also openly discuss the value of mental health.
A one-day event began with its recognized art fair— now called Soft Market participated by artists such as Arkadia Collective, The Story Machine, Odd Ali, The Shelf Co., Handmade By Marj Chua, Sulad Kulay, Uran, The Write Script PH, Zero Waste PH by C&J, and The Art Hobo.
By mid-afternoon came the series of talks delivered by Nadine Abellera, Jaymar Patana, Karl Aguro, Nikko Tan, Alve Aranton and CDO Helpline — a program of the City of Social Welfare and Development (CSWD). The Invited speakers were able to impart personal experiences to the audience on taking care of oneself through self-compassion and kindness.
The fourth installment also marked the release of the second issue of INDIGO zine which featured stories of contributors’ experience on mental health issues and dealing with its circumstances. Most of all, the second zine encourages everyone to take care of their own mental and emotional well-being.
And to cap off the night was its notable Soft Music which represented local indie musicians like Niño, Annalogue, and KRNA and invited bands from Cebu — Sansette and Sepia Times, up-and-coming talents who did not fall short of wowing the Kagayanon crowd for the first time.
It was as successful as anticipated, yet every year, Soft is becoming more hopeful and intentional in its pursuit to make the local art scene shine even brighter.