99u Local: Manila's Creative Scene is Making Ideas Happen

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” – Thomas Edison

Edison’s words are what inspired the creation of 99u, Behance’s effort “to provide the missing curriculum for making ideas happen.” Through their website, events, books, and more, this New York-based brand compels creative minds to make their great ideas a reality by providing “action-oriented insights from leading researchers and visionary creatives.”

99u Local is a casual and intimate branded event that provides its creative audience three curated talks that aim to inspire, move, and incite collaborative creative action.

Together with MUNI,” a community of Cultural Creatives passionate about mindful living, a life where we think more about how we shop, eat, travel, work, and play every day,” 99u Local: Manila is set for 16th September (Wednesday) at the Ayala Museum. “We’d like to connect Manila’s bright, passionate creatives to a community that also cares about the impact of their work on others – be it with their team, society, or the planet on a larger scale.”

The three curated talks will be from Manileños in various creative fields:

Pepe Diokno, internationally acclaimed filmmaker behind Engkwentro, which won the Lion of the Future – “Luigi de Laurentiis” Award and the Orizzonti Prize at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, among other accolades, and Above The Clouds, a Filipino-French co-production that premiered at the 2014 Tokyo Film Festival and was nominated Best Film at the 2014 Singapore Film Festival. He is also chairman of Epicmedia and editor-in-chief at Philippine Star SUPREME.

Tal de Guzman, founder and designer of Risque Designs, a homegrown footwear brand and manufacturing company that highlights Filipino craftsmanship in shoemaking, woodcarving and weaving, which regularly exhibits at Manila FAME, one of the Philippines’ biggest design events, and has joined NY NOW in New York. She was also the sole Philippine delegate to the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards in 2013, held in Washington D.C.

Julia Nebrija, urban planner, arts, culture and mobility advocate, who first moved to the Philippines in 2008 as a Fulbright Scholar and returned in 2012 after finishing her Masters Degree in Urban Design from the City College of New York. She is the executive director of VivaManila, and chair of the Inclusive Mobility Network.

Apart from the short talks, creatives will also get to enjoy live performances from Reese Lansangan and CRWN.

Reese Lansangan is a visual artist, graphic designer, fashion designer, musician, and songwriter. She is half of the acoustic duo Reese and Vica and the vocalist of power-pop band Dressed Up Days. She obtained her first degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Information Design, in the Ateneo de Manila University in 2011. In the same year, her thesis DIY or Die was granted the Magenta trophy, the highest award for student work, during the Philippine Graphic Design Awards. She earned her second degree in Fashion Design & Marketing from the SoFA Design Institute.

CRWN is a producer and beatmaker. What began as a bedroom project is now making waves in the music scene since his launch in 2014. His music is a fine example of what it means to combine classical sounds with modern techniques.

Organizers of this one night event hope that it becomes a jump off point for collaboration between local creatives to create meaningful work with their skills and talents. Let’s make ideas happen!

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