Creative Commons by Altomonte Projects: Building a Home for Baguio’s Creative Community

In a city celebrated for its artists, performers, musicians, and makers, Altomonte Projects has opened a space designed to bring many corners of Baguio’s creative community together.

Created by dramaturge and community builders RL Altomonte and Karlo Altomonte, Creative Commons is more than just a venue — it is a collaborative hub where art, wellness, education, craftsmanship, and local entrepreneurship all intersect.

Located at 10 Maya Street in Dizon Subdivision, the renovated property now houses a diverse collection of community-focused spaces and businesses. During Alam Mo Ba Baguio’s visit, Karlo shared the deeply personal history behind the building. Before becoming Creative Commons, the property had once been the family home they rented for years. In fact, part of the spacious upstairs rehearsal area had previously served as their bedroom before being transformed into a performance and workshop space.

Today, the building reflects the many different expressions of Baguio creativity. Visitors can grab coffee from Cafe De Angelo, operated together with Cafe Cuevo and long-time supporters of Alam Mo Ba Baguio. The Creative Commons complex also includes a yoga and meditation center, the fashion and clothing design space Une Belle Creation, the Readability Center, and The Healing Space, which focuses on orthopedic recovery and sports injury rehabilitation.

A central storefront inside the building showcases locally made artisanal products and crafts from Baguio-based creators and small businesses. Featured vendors currently include Kora’s Arthouse, Open Space, Anti Self Livelihood, Retasew.ph, Demi 2600, AXELotl, Mountain High, THM, Nina’s Table, Philippine Treasures Inc, Mayat-an, AYBGO, and Everything Pine.

At its core, Creative Commons remains strongly connected to artistic education and collaboration. The venue hosts theatre acting classes for elementary and high school students, Acting 101 workshops for adults, local art exhibits, and community gatherings such as World Collage Day hangouts.

The space also continues to expand its creative programming. On Saturday, May 23, Creative Commons will host Crafternoon, a fiber-crafters meetup and pop-up event organized by Baguio Fiber Friends. The event will include beginner-friendly knitting and crocheting lessons, offering another accessible entry point into Baguio’s creative community.

Karlo also spoke about his long-standing connection to the city’s arts scene, including helping found the Ibagiw Creative Festival, one of Baguio’s most important celebrations of local creativity and cultural identity. That same community-first philosophy is clearly woven into the vision behind Creative Commons.

Rather than functioning as a single business or studio, Creative Commons operates as a shared ecosystem — one where artists, entrepreneurs, performers, wellness advocates, and hobbyists can coexist, collaborate, and help foster local talent in Baguio City.

Where: Creative Commons, 10 Maya street Dizon Subdivision
What: A multi-purpose creative and community hub supporting local art, wellness, workshops, craftsmanship, and collaboration in Baguio City.