“Tara, Kape Tayo!” Maginhawa Art Cafés and Art Spaces

Abstract

This research analyzed five (5) art cafés in Maginhawa Street, Quezon City – Negative Space Café, The Lost Bread, Laruan Atbp Café, Artesania MNL Café, and KKK Coffee – in order to determine the growing trend of small independent art cafés in Maginhawa Street and why it continuously gains popularity among the present generation. This research was guided by the creative industry mapping framework of the British Council in the UK. In this case, the creative industries present in the art cafés were classified according to the different offerings and services, providing the analysis on the scope, range, and economic value of the creative industries. The study provided answers on (1) the offerings and services of these art cafés, (2) the promotional strategies, (3) audience engagement, and (4) cultivation of artistic creativity. The study showed that each art café has its unique way of engaging its audiences in the arts and cultivating creativity among their audiences, as well as their employees. Their small, intimate spaces are strategic in a sense that they wanted their businesses to be oriented towards small social gatherings and friendly engagements. Lastly, The café’s promotional strategies are mostly through word-of-mouth and social media and for them, it is the easiest and most effective way of attracting the public. This supported our conclusion that the phenomenon of art cafes do in fact have the potential to open more opportunities in employment and could also cultivate the Philippine art scene, providing more avenues for the Filipinos’ innate creativity and innovative minds to flourish.