Basgiath Creator’s Guild: Of true art and creation
Getting to know the newly founded Basgiath Creator’s Guild.

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“Everything is creation, if you think about it.” — Lareina Kayla Sarmiento, Basgiath Creators Guild Co-president

Amidst a plethora of student organizations, this year UTM saw the inception of the Basgiath Creator’s Guild (BSG), a club named and themed after the Fourth Wing book series. It serves as a creative space open to “everybody and every skill.” 

As of now, the BSG has three main sections—”Visionists” for those who are artistically inclined, “Wriders” for those who create with words, and “Scalers” for those who like building worlds out of software. The names of the three sections are dragon-themed, in the same vein as the club’s namesake.

In an interview with The Medium, BSG Co-President Lareina Kayla shared that she sees the guild expanding as more students join. She emphasized that any interest that falls under the umbrella of creation in any type of craft, be it artistic, academic, or otherwise, is welcome in these (metaphorical) guild halls.

I had the pleasure of speaking to a couple of the guild executives, who shared how the guild came to be, what their intentions are, and what we can expect in the upcoming year.

The formation of BSG was inspired by Co-Presidents Lareina Kayla and Alyssa Abou-Ayache’s desire to build a tight-knit community. They found clubs at UTM unable to foster a true sense of togetherness among their members. 

Lareina Kayla and Abou-Ayache originally decided to combine a book club with an original character creation club. But as they invited others to build a community, their idea blossomed into a creators guild.

“I feel like if you add a bit of fantasy, or even ancientness to [the guild], it just gives it character,” said Lareina Kayla. 

However, the fact that BSG is a guild instead of a club has less to do with fantasy and more to do with community. 

“We liked what [a guild] stood for.” Lareina Kayla explained, “With a club, you’re not really part of something; you’re just a name on a list. But with a guild, it’s an actual group of people coming together, sharing and learning from each other.”

Along with Abou-Ayache and Lareina Kayla, the other executive members—Eric, Claire Zhou, and Emily Duh all did their best to make BSG a reality.

“We started the Discord first, before we even got recognized by the Student Organization Portal. We figured even if this doesn’t take off, there’s a space for people to share their arts and crafts,” Lareina Kayla explained.

However, the concept of a creator’s guild was not only close to the hearts of the executive team. Lareina Kayla shared, “In a matter of less than 12 hours, there were 30 people on the server.”

BSG does not intend to stop at building a Discord server. BSG plans to host multiple workshops and seminars, along with their monthly Pieces and Prizes, a prompt-based competition where members submit their work, as well as events such as Inktober.

“I’m hoping the [guild] will get more guest speakers,” Emily said.

The guild also intends to hold networking events, help build portfolios and collaborate with other communities. “Ultimately,” Lareina Kayla said, “we could collaborate with all the clubs.” BSG’s first collaboration will be with the Paleontology club on October 22. 

BSG is also planning a year-end tournament with industry professionals as judges, and plans to appear at conventions such as the Fan Expo and Anime North.

So, for creators of all varieties, the Basgiath Creator’s Guild has its doors wide open!

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