Benguet’s Project Bloom Transformed Houses into Colorful Murals

An art city in the making.
by Gene Loves Acosta | June 23, 2016

Looks like La Trinidad, Benguet just added another reason for you to visit the place aside from its famous strawberry fields! After a month of painting hundreds of houses (190 out of 214 houses agreed to participate), the project dubbed Project Bloom of the tourism department is already nearing its completion.

In an interview, project coordinator Gloria Agasen said: “Ang ginagawa namin ngayon ‘yung outline ng mga buklaklak. ‘Yung paint pa lang kasi ‘yung nagagawa so hindi pa makikita ‘yung design.” (What we’re doing right now is the outline of the flowers. The design can’t be seen yet as we are still in the process of painting.) Here’s a look at the recent progress on the Project Bloom project.

Does it look familiar? That’s because the project is adapted from the favela paintings in Brazil which transformed slum communities into giant artworks. Residents together with volunteers like students and members of the police are the ones painting the houses. Paint companies also took part by donating paint and other materials.

The mural was designed by artists of the Tam-awan Village and of them, Jordan Mang-osan, said that they selected sunflower as the main theme since the area was once filled with it. Here’s a look at the proposed mural design:

What can you say about this massive mural in La Trinidad, Benguet?