After 10 years of being a welder, making window grills and other construction materials, Kelvi Galap suddenly discovered an artistic talent that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said poses a huge potential in the creative industry. A native of Ifugao, 29-year-old Kelvi learned welding while working at his uncle's welding shop in Lagawe, Ifugao when he was 19. In 2023, upon seeing on social media figures and items using scrap metals being sold for a few thousand pesos, Kelvi tried his hand at scrap metal arts, banking on his knowledge of welding. His first creation was a motorcycle figure less than a foot high, which paved the way for his career in the creative sector as an upcycling artist. He was able to sell two items online and created more. He crafted a life-size image of a Cordilleran warrior using scrap metal, which he sold for PHP300,000, as well as boats and a replica of the Banaue rice terraces with an image of a 'bulol' (rice god) on top, all for sale. 'Marketing is difficult but I a m hopeful that the government through the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) can help me market my works,' Kelvi said during a press conference on the sidelines of the first of the two-day 'Fiesta Haraya id Cordillera' on Tuesday. Rafaelita Aldaba, DTI Undersecretary for Competitiveness and Innovation, in the same press conference, said, 'The creative industry has a huge potential.' 'The Cordillera's products have potential and I particularly like the upcycled works using scrap metal,' she said, referring to Kelvi's work on display at the event pavilion. 'Filipinos are ingenuous, creative, have imaginative talents that allow the production or making of products with big potentials in the market. We will bring his products to Manila for marketing and promotion.' Aldaba estimated that 7.3 million people in the country are engaged in the creative industry, contributing about 7.1 percent to the country's gross domestic product. She said the industry, which spans diverse domains - audiovisual media, digit al interactive media, creative services, design, publishing and print media, performing arts, visual arts, cultural sites, and traditional cultural expressions - is expected to grow 10 percent by 2030 from the current 6.9 percent expansion. She disclosed that the DTI is rolling out the disaggregation of a satellite account for the creative industry. 'We are profiling to see which domain those in the creative industry are really interested in so that we would know how to better provide interventions,' she said. Juliet Lucas, DTI-Cordillera director, said the agency provides various interventions, such as training, entrepreneurship, product development, packaging, market development, and even linkage to funders to help micro, small and medium enterprises in general. Andrei Nicolai Pamintuan, head of the arts of the British Council - Philippines, in the same briefing, cited the opportunities to improve the creative industry with the passage of the Philippine Creative Industry Development Act. Kelvi's works may not have collectors as patrons but the circular economy, where everybody is taught, not just to be consumers but also creators of things, presents possibilities and potentials, he said. 'Companies, local government units, individuals can put a premium, not just to the work of art but also to the message of the work,' Pamintuan added. Source: Philippines News Agency