Cultivating a new creative generation
Across Metro Manila, the effort to raise the next generation of Filipino creatives is taking shape across a diverse and vibrant landscape. It lives within institutional classrooms that test student output against global industry benchmarks, but it also thrives in non-traditional third spaces: material classes rooted in indigenous knowledge, maker studios that fuse design-led thinking with fabrication, interdisciplinary cultural incubators for children of all ages, radical agencies championing neurodivergent talent, and galleries that provide grant opportunities for lens-based artists.
Here are seven spaces that are expanding what art and design education can look like in Metro Manila—equipping the next wave of Filipino creatives not only to navigate the noise, but to discern, make, and connect.
Bridging design education and global industry practices: De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)
Malate, Manila
While institutional art and design programs often struggle to extend student work beyond the confines of the studio, DLS-CSB’s collaboration with UPS offers a pragmatic model for turning academic training into a launch pad for emerging talent.
Through the partnership, students had the opportunity to develop work for a global brand, culminating in Lauren Kerby Obaldo’s “Haraya sa Kalsada,” which won the UPS Express Envelope Design Competition. Selected from nearly 400 entries, Obaldo’s design will be reproduced on official UPS packaging worldwide.
Obaldo’s design places local iconography in a global context, bringing together elements of the traditional jeepney, Philippine fiesta aesthetics, and Clark’s dynamic role as an international logistics hub in Luzon.
Conversations on local and regional contemporary art: Gajah Gallery
NBS Compound, Mandaluyong City
Proving that commercial galleries can double as dynamic spaces for public education, Gajah Gallery extends its programming beyond traditional exhibitions. Through regular artist talks, panel discussions, and educational programs designed for audiences ranging from high school students to art collectors and visual artists, it fosters a more accessible understanding of the broader regional contemporary art landscape—while offering a window into the lives and practices of contemporary artists.
Malaysian visual artist Kayleigh Goh, reflecting on her artist talk at Gajah Gallery Manila, shares, “I think artist talks are important because they provide a window into how different artists think and work. They allow audiences, especially emerging creatives, to encounter different approaches and find artists or methodologies that they can resonate and connect with.”
“From there, they can reflect on how imagination and criticality operate within their own practice—what they might want to adopt, question, or develop further.”
Expanding contemporary modes image-making: Tarzeer Pictures
Chino Roces Avenue, Makati
In a visual arts ecosystem historically dominated by traditional modes of production, Tarzeer Pictures has helped expand the space for lens-based media in the Philippines. The platform supports emerging photographers and video artists across fields ranging from editorial, fashion, and documentary photography to fine art and photojournalism.
Through initiatives such as the Tarzeer Grant for Photography and its exhibition opportunities, the platform creates space for experimentation and critical inquiry—enabling artists across generations to develop and present bodies of work that engage with contemporary themes. These include body politics, memory, built environments, conflict zones, ecology, and gender identity.
Collective making and indigenous material heritage: The O Home
San Antonio, Makati and Project 8, Quezon City
Rooted in local heritage and tactile engagements with indigenous materials and processes, such as pinalakpak—a mode of production involving sawdust and glue that was extensively utilized by the late visual artist and art educator Roberto Feleo—The O Home in Makati and Quezon City serves as dedicated spaces for exploring indigenous Filipino materials within the context of contemporary visual art.
As co-founder Len-Len Malgapo-Domingo explains, “We want to make space for things that we don’t talk about enough. This includes how our identities are constantly being shaped, diluted, and sometimes even distorted by colonial histories and outside influences as well as by the way our culture is packaged and understood today.”
Together with co-founder Yllang Montenegro, their commitment to creating space for dialogue and collective-making reflects The O Home’s broader effort to re-ground young creatives in local modes of production, while nurturing artistic practices that are both ecologically conscious and deeply connected to cultural identity.
Creative culture built around making: Mold
Legazpi Village, Makati
Operating at the intersection of design-led thinking and ecologically mindful fabrication, Mold provides a hands-on studio environment where ideas are developed, tested, and materialized. The space encourages young practitioners to imagine, innovate, and critically translate ideas into objects—making design processes and contemporary modes of production more accessible.
For founder EJ Angeles, Mold is also a way to reconcile his own creative practice with his values. “Perhaps the reason I decided to build Mold, a hub that hopes to nurture a creative culture built around making, is to allow myself to feel more whole as a person. Being a designer also means molding the next generation and, hopefully, building in them the capacity to be discerning above all,” he adds.
“I admire Gen Alpha’s creatives. Their creativity has fewer barriers than that of the other generations I have encountered. Give Gen Alpha creatives a pen and paper and ask them to create a study for 3D printing, and they will almost immediately execute it, without the usual barriers of overthinking and over-editing,” shares Angeles.
Creative play and cultural incubation: Navitas Haus
Poblacion, Makati
Positioned as an alternative “third space” outside formal schooling, Navitas Haus offers an interdisciplinary environment for creativity and storytelling. Its programs integrate creative play, mindful making, and artistic experimentation, creating space for emerging artists and lifelong learners alike.
At the heart of this approach is a spirit of exploration, making, and connection that transcends the structures and expectations of conventional education.
Elo Quiambao, founder of Navitas Haus, says: “Today’s youth are not passive recipients of information. They are looking for experiences that engage their senses and allow them to explore, make, and discover.
An agency for the neurodivergent creative: The Misfits Camp
Legazpi Village, Makati
Redefining creative education through radical inclusivity, The Misfits Camp offers specialized training, mentorship, and opportunities designed to help neurodivergent artists and creatives develop their skills and enter the creative industry.
“Misfits Camp is a training center that assesses, trains, and upskills neurodivergent creatives, helping them enter and thrive in the industry. This isn’t a one-time, big-time project. Sustainability is one of our goals for our creatives,” shares Merlee Jayme, founder of Misfits Camp.
According to Jayme, an agency like Misfits Camp provides an avenue for expression, particularly for creatives who may not communicate most effectively through traditional verbal or linguistic means. She believes art can help unleash the untapped talent of neurodivergent artists and creatives, giving them opportunities to develop skills that can translate into meaningful creative work.
One of these creatives is King Esguerra, a neurodivergent graphic designer who was commissioned by Sourdough Cafe through Misfits Camp to create digital illustrations for the cafe’s seventh anniversary.
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