2026 Metrobank MADE winners turn perspectives into possibilities

MANILA — Drawing from the world around them and their own experiences, the 2026 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence grand awardees transformed themes of power, perseverance, and human connection into works that encourage audiences to see familiar realities from different perspectives.

“This year, MADE received over 600 submissions from artists across the country, reflecting the diversity, talent, and vitality of the Philippine art community. Their works remind us that Filipino artists continue to engage deeply with the world around them and contribute fresh perspectives to the conversations shaping our society,” said Metrobank Foundation President Philip Francisco U. Dy.

Through painting, mixed media, and sculpture, the artists translated their observations, experiences, and questions into works reflecting contemporary life.

Imagining lives beyond our own

Grand Awardee for Oil or Acrylic on Canvas Vince Martin A. Macatangay’s “Sonder: Sa Bawat Mundong ’Di Ko Matahak (Sonder: In Worlds Beyond My Reach)” asks viewers to consider lives they can never fully know and their own place within the larger stories of others.

The work brings together multiple figures and movements to evoke countless stories unfolding simultaneously, while its distorted figures reflect the complexity of different realities.

“Sonder” describes the realization that every person one encounters has a life as complex and vivid as one’s own, complete with relationships, ambitions, routines, and worries.

Macatangay encountered the concept through someone who described him as “sonder-coded” before that person died, and the idea eventually became the foundation of his painting.

“Sa painting, hinihigop ang simuno patungo sa siklo ng walang hanggang daloy ng oras, sumasagisag sa walang katapusang interaksyon sa di mabilang na buhay (In the painting, the subject is drawn into the cycle of the endless flow of time, symbolizing the infinite interactions among countless lives),” explained Macatangay.

The courage to keep moving forward

Grand Awardee for Mixed Media Kennette A. Luague’s “Taya (Bet)” draws from the lives of workers who make daily sacrifices and take risks for their families and futures.

At the center of the work is a person caught within a chaotic system yet choosing to move forward, which Luague presents as a measure of success.

“Bagaman tila nakapako sa gitna ng sistema, ang alab sa kanyang isipan ang nagsisilbing mitsa ng pag-asa. Hindi siya biktima ng pagkakataon, siya ay isang manunugal na may sapat na giting na harapin ang hamon (Although seemingly stuck in the middle of the system, the fire in a person’s mind serves as a spark of hope. He is not a victim of circumstance, but a gambler with the courage to face the challenges before him.),” shared Luague.

Luague used materials including wood and billiard cloth to create a work symbolizing hope for Filipino workers.

Making the familiar unsettling

Grand Awardee for Sculpture Aldrin B. Olaguir’s “Hinahalal, Binabanal (The Chosen, the Sanctified)” begins with a familiar religious object: a holy water font.

Instead of water, the basin holds a hardened formation, while a crocodile figure behind it suggests themes of power and corruption.

The work examines the idea of a “necessary evil” and how repeatedly made choices can eventually become accepted, justified, or even treated as sacred.

By changing the meaning of a recognizable object, Olaguir invites viewers to question what they may have come to accept as normal.

“Growing up in the Philippines, I am influenced by survival conditions, inherited moral systems, and fragmented histories shaped by colonial interruption and cultural layering. These experiences drive me to construct symbolic systems and narrative frameworks that reinterpret erased or distorted cultural histories,” shared Olaguir.

The winning works reflect the spirit of “Traverse: Creativity in Motion,” exploring different pathways of thought, experience, and artistic expression shaping contemporary Philippine art.

Together, the three works show how artists can transform observation, experience, and inquiry into reflections on society, identity, and shared human experience.

While grounded in distinct perspectives, the works invite deeper understanding, dialogue, and connection.

MADE supports artists by providing opportunities to pursue their creative visions, showcase their work, develop sustainable careers in the arts, and exchange ideas within a creative community.

“What I appreciate most about the 2026 MADE Competition is its open theme. It gives artists the freedom to create works that truly align with their own practice and vision, while also becoming a platform to showcase the best of their craft. For me, it encourages artists to stay true to themselves,” shared Olaguir.

Each 2026 MADE grand awardee received PHP 500,000 in prizes, consisting of PHP 350,000 in cash and a PHP 150,000 scholarship to the Eskinita Art Residency Program in 2027.

The grand awardees also received the coveted “More” trophy, sculpted in copper this year by renowned artist and 2007 MADE awardee Juan Sajid.

Metrobank Foundation also presented Special Citations to Raphael Daniel O. David for Sculpture for “Mirror of Consequence: Millisecond Before Light” and Richard D. Montero for Mixed Media for “Puno ng Kwento (Full of Stories).”

Arvin C. Cantalejo Jr. and Artgiveson C. Arreglado received Special Citations for Oil or Acrylic on Canvas for “Echoes Beneath My Skin” and “To Weather With You,” respectively.

Each Special Citation recipient received PHP 100,000 and the “More” trophy.

The 2026 MADE winners were selected by a panel of art practitioners, curators, writers, and creative industry leaders chaired by sculptor Reginald Yuson.

The panel included painter and former MADE awardee Mark Andy Garcia; mixed media artist Ling Quisumbing Ramilo; 2026 MADE exhibition curator and UP Diliman Department of Theory Associate Professor May Lyn Cruz; art writer and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Creative Industries Program officer in charge Lara Acuin; Vinyl Gallery co-founder and co-director Gaby dela Merced; and Cultural Center of the Philippines Visual Arts and Museum Division officer in charge Rica Estrada.

The awardees were recognized at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, also known as The M, on Sept. 17, 2026, during the opening of the 2026 MADE exhibition.

The free exhibition runs Sept. 18–Oct. 18 and features nearly 100 works from across the country that advanced to the competition’s semifinals, including those of the grand awardees.

MADE has supported Filipino artists for more than four decades through its annual competition, workshops, artistic development initiatives, partnerships, and community outreach programs.

The Metrobank Foundation program began in 1984 as the Metrobank National Painting Competition and was relaunched as Metrobank Art & Design Excellence in 2004.