Emerging artist-run spaces across Metro Manila and beyond
Five years after the pandemic, it seems the local art scene has begun to find its footing again, and much of the most vital energy is gathering around a growing number of new artist-run spaces.
After being moved by 98B’s sprawling ESC Biennale in Escolta, I found myself thinking about the role of artist-run spaces within a broader, and often fragile, art ecosystem. 98B Collaboratory, perhaps the longest-running artist-run space in Manila after Green Papaya, has sustained a commitment to exploratory programming and a generosity toward critical exchange among artists, writers, and the wider cultural milieu. Small artist-run spaces like 98B do more than provide venues for emerging and non-mainstream artists; they are also keenly attuned to their marginal position in relation to the art market.
This awareness often makes them more careful and intentional in their curatorial and creative orientations, and more receptive to the rhythms of their immediate communities. In this way, they help cultivate meaningful linkages between cultural production and broader publics.
This list gathers some of the newest artist-run spaces that have emerged over the past year and late last year. A disclaimer: it is highly subjective, largely Metro Manila-centric, and far from exhaustive, shaped by my own fairly casual and recent engagement with the local art scene.
In Quezon City, Spare Bedroom is an exhibition space that has shown a clear interest in relational and collaborative practices by contemporary Filipino artists. Located inside Chapterhouse, a former residence turned creative hub in Sikatuna Village, Spare Bedroom is, quite literally, a spare bedroom. It has already held works by Tanya Villanueva, Magpies Press, Lyra Garcellano, and Sining Amihan. I am drawn to its particular energy, where exhibitions are entangled with community events that further activate the works on view: film screenings, tabletop board games, quiz nights, whatever fits.
Next door is Library Una, which hosts poetry readings, CD listening parties, haircutting and offers books and zines by independent publishers, many by women and queer creators.
Just a few minutes away along V. Luna is Gallery 119. Its inaugural exhibition, “Malakas at Maganda,” curated by Annie Pacana, brought together a compelling mix of paintings, sculptures, and new media works. Like many spaces in this part of Quezon City, Gallery 119 transforms a suburban middle-class apartment into a hospitable site that holds space for art “beyond the contemporary.”
The month-long Quezon City Biennale also drew attention to Green Gate in Bahay Toro. The space has already hosted screenings by local experimental video artists, artist talks, DJ sets, and Allan Balisi’s “Sintang Nasa Bingit.”
In Pasig, New Remedios Enterprises, founded by Vincent Ardidon, began as a small space nested within an office in Ortigas. I first encountered it during their hosting of the Manila screening of the cult film Film01: histoire(s) de l’internet by Angelicism01. Since then, the space has presented works by Tyler Garces-Ormsby and Therese Regalado, and it is also where I held my first solo exhibition, “Two Racks and a Window.” I am drawn to its economy of space, its careful programming, and its ambient digital presence. Vincent has since shared that they are moving from Ortigas to an even more intimate location in Makati.
Along EDSA, between SM Megamall and Camp Crame, Rift positions itself as a refusal of the dominant logics of the mainstream cultural establishment. Their first exhibition, curated by Carissa Pobre, featured works by seven women artists working across different media. In conversation, Carissa emphasized the space’s manifesto-driven commitment to experimentation and risk-taking.
Heading east of Manila, Kapitolyo Art Space in Kapitolyo, Pasig, also holds space for both emerging and more established artists. While primarily focused on painting, the space currently hosts a small art market on Sundays, extending its role as a gathering place for all sorts of creatives.
The arts are likewise thriving in the Visayas. This year’s Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) in Aklan brought together long-standing and newly formed artist collectives from across the region. Other spaces, such as Lost Books in Cebu and Magnet in Iloilo, have been drawing poets, writers and artists seeking alternative, community-oriented venues.
In Tacloban, Et al. Art Space opened with an inaugural exhibition in November 2025 called “The Other Side.” Recently, they posted a call for young artists who are interested in “experimenting, questioning, and figuring things out.” Et al, according to founder Jacques Palami, is the first dedicated art gallery and exhibition space in Eastern Visayas.
Thrive Arts Projects, a platform dedicated to documenting art in Western Visayas, recently settled into a space at The Shops at Atria and has since collaborated with more than 60 artists from Panay. The project appears committed to presenting a thoughtful mix of emerging and established practitioners from the region. I also admire the care and consistency of the writing on their website, which features “day in the life” profiles, interviews, think pieces, and criticism.
I have not been to Mindanao this year, but I have followed developments through conversations and shared accounts. In Davao, artist Alfrez Galvez opened Galvez Atelier as a private gallery and workspace. Carmen Art District in Cagayan de Oro, an alternative art initiative established in 2023, continues to expand its efforts in Northern Mindanao through art and music jams and collaborations with street art collectives.
I am certain there are many more spaces quietly taking shape elsewhere in the country, which I look forward to encountering when the opportunity arises.
