what even is carat art fest? is it a place for carats to buy merch? for artists to share their craft? for merchants to earn income? its definitely amazing we’re given a platform to share our art and at the same time feel a sense of community from it—i’m always grateful for that fact. but with 70 merchants in one day the way things have been handled so far, i’m afraid it’s starting to lose its essence.
imho we did not have to have such a large scale event if it meant putting the artists’ and attendees’ physical and emotional wellbeing at stake. and this is coming from someone who made profit from caf… but to me caf really isn’t all about that… i think for next year we have to ground ourselves again and think about what caf really is for, because for me, caf this year felt like more of a consumption and spending fest rather than a celebration of carat artists and seventeen :,)
“Okay Jomil, why do you need to do this publicly?”
Because I’m frustrated and I need to speak up.
This isn’t about creating noise for the sake of it... it’s about voicing what I experienced. We can’t just let things go unaddressed just because the event was fun overall. There still needs to be accountability and space for reflection on what can be improved moving forward.
At the end of the day, it’s worth going back to the “why.” Why are we doing all of this in the first place? Is it for SEVENTEEN, for the artists, for the community?
If it’s for the community, then we should also be open to listening, learning, and making better decisions and plans that actually support and uplift it.