Cultivating Culture: A Call to Enrich the Soul of General Santos City

 

General Santos City is a vibrant economic hub, well-known for its bustling port, thriving tuna industry, and entrepreneurial spirit. With a population approaching one million, it stands as one of the most progressive cities in Mindanao. Yet, amid its economic strides, an essential dimension of its identity remains undernourished: its cultural life.

Beyond the colorful costumes and celebratory tones of the annual Kalilangan Festival, cultural infrastructure in the city is painfully sparse. There is only one public library—ill-equipped to serve a digitally connected youth—and just two modest museums housed within Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU) and Mindanao State University (MSU) Tambler. These institutions, though founded on noble aspirations, suffer from chronic underfunding and underutilization. Art galleries are non-existent, cultural workshops rare, and heritage preservation efforts minimal.

Culture is not a luxury; it is an essential driver of civic pride, social cohesion, and creative expression. If General Santos City is to truly thrive in the 21st century, it must prioritize cultural development as much as it does economic growth. Here are six concrete strategies to ignite cultural vibrancy in the city:

Photo credit: CTTO

1. Allocate 2% of Local School Board Funds to City-Based Museums and Cultural Education

The Local School Board can serve as a reliable partner in revitalizing cultural engagement. A modest 2% allocation from its budget can fund regular activities and upgrades at the NDDU and MSU museums. These museums, if strengthened, can become dynamic centers for educational visits, community-based exhibits, and intergenerational storytelling sessions that deepen awareness of regional history and indigenous cultures.

This funding can also support school-based cultural workshops, artist-in-residence programs, and competitions that allow students to explore various cultural expressions—from dance and literature to visual arts and local crafts. Integrating cultural education within the formal schooling system nurtures appreciation early on, making cultural participation habitual rather than incidental.

2. Launch a Private-Public Partnership to Build Community Libraries in Key Barangays

The current state of library infrastructure in General Santos is woefully inadequate for a modern, urbanized city. With just one under-resourced public library, there is a pressing need to expand access to books, learning technologies, and community knowledge centers.

A public-private partnership model, involving the Philippine Librarians Association, corporate foundations, and civic groups, can make this possible. Community libraries in Apopong, Labangal, Calumpang, Bula, and Fatima can serve as multipurpose cultural spaces—offering not only reading materials but also storytelling sessions, language clubs, digital skills training, and heritage exhibits.

Each barangay library should have dedicated areas for children and teens, open-access WiFi, and a rotation of programs designed by volunteer educators and local artists. These can quickly become inclusive and safe spaces where creativity, reading, and cultural curiosity flourish.

3. Designate a City Cultural Ambassador with Executive Authority

To anchor these efforts in policy and coordination, General Santos City must appoint a Cultural Ambassador with the rank of Executive Assistant under the Office of the Mayor. This role should not be symbolic. The ambassador must have a clear mandate to plan, promote, and oversee cultural development strategies in partnership with stakeholders.

The Cultural Ambassador will serve as the city’s liaison to cultural organizations, regional cultural networks, national institutions such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and potential funders. They will also lead the organization of cultural mapping efforts, ensuring that the city’s intangible heritage—oral traditions, crafts, rituals—is identified, recorded, and preserved.

4. Create a Multi-Stakeholder Cultural Council

Building an inclusive cultural ecosystem requires collective vision. A multi-stakeholder Cultural Council should be established under the City Cultural Office, composed of local artists, museum curators, educators, historians, business sector representatives, and youth leaders. This body will set long-term goals, plan city-wide activities, and develop a sustainable cultural agenda beyond the annual Kalilangan Festival.

The Council can curate a year-round calendar of events including visual art exhibitions, poetry nights, heritage film screenings, and inter-barangay art competitions. It can also oversee grant programs that support cultural research and provide micro-funding for grassroots initiatives like music workshops or theater productions.

5. Develop and Fund an Annual Citywide Arts and Culture Grant

With appropriate budget legislation from the city council, an Arts and Culture Grant can be created to empower individuals, collectives, and barangay associations to mount independent cultural events. These may include mural-making projects, traditional dance revivals, literary zines, or neighborhood-based heritage walks.

By democratizing access to cultural funds, the city empowers its creative citizens to take initiative and innovate. This distributed approach to cultural development ensures participation and relevance in all corners of the city, not just its center.

6. Establish the City’s First Public Art Gallery and Artists’ Collective Space

A vibrant city must have a space where creative expression is nurtured and showcased. A modestly sized but well-curated art gallery, established through adaptive reuse of an existing public building or unused commercial property, can serve this purpose.

This gallery should host rotating exhibits of local and regional artists, student art competitions, and cross-disciplinary installations. Attached to it can be a co-working studio space—an “art lab”—where young creatives can collaborate, learn new techniques, and hold workshops for the community. Partnering with the tourism office and local businesses will also help promote this space as a cultural destination.

Conclusion: A Culture-Rich General Santos Is Within Reach

The soul of a city is not measured only by its GDP or number of malls. It is felt in the stories its people tell, the art that adorns its walls, and the shared spaces where generations meet and memories are made.

General Santos City has long excelled in trade and industry. Now, it must rise to the challenge of enriching its cultural life—not as an afterthought, but as a pillar of development. With decisive action, collaborative leadership, and sustained community engagement, we can transform General Santos into a city where culture thrives alongside commerce, and where every resident—especially the youth—can find not just opportunity, but inspiration.