Arte Suave Manila 2017
Adding to Stratminds’s already diverse event portfolio is Arte Suave Manila, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition and expo held every October in Commercenter Alabang. The event was first mounted in 2015, and due to the warm reception from the local BJJ and MMA community, two installments followed in 2016 and 2017.
Stratminds partnered with Triumvirate Fighting, a BJJ and MMA promotion founded in 2015. The group is composed of martial arts practitioners who also have experience joining other similar competitions. They conceptualised Arte Suave Manila as a league “by fighters, for fighters,” with the primary goal of helping grow the sport in the country.
Recognizing the potential of BJJ athletes to conquer the world stage, Commercenter Alabang signed on to be part of the project, giving Arte Suave Manila a home.
The primary challenge of organising Arte Suave Manila is crowd control. The event pulls in close to 10,000 people (in and out) over a two-day period. Given that the competition mats eat up the available space, mobility is already limited. To address this, walkways were designated and marked with floor tape.
A key strength of Arte Suave Manila is the creative execution and the consequent translation to online and on-ground collateral materials. The logo was developed by the Creative Design Team of Stratminds, which is then applied to the corresponding visual identity of each year.
Another differentiator of Arte Suave Manila is the overall event experience for the competitors. On the tournament side, there were minor tweaks in the rules and in the weight divisions. Furthermore, winners were given special prizes on top of the usual medals.