Inviting audiences to reflect, see familiar realities from different perspectives, and consider new possibilities.
Recently, the grand awardees of the 2026 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) were picked from over 600 submissions from different artists across the country.
In a statement, Metrobank Foundation President Philip Francisco Dy noted, ‘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.”
Through painting, mixed media, and sculpture, the artists charted their own creative paths, translating their observations and questions into works that speak to the world around them.
This year’s winning works reflect the spirit of TRAVERSE: Creativity in Motion, exploring diverse pathways of thought, experience, and artistic expression that continue to shape contemporary Philippine art.
MADE also gives artists the freedom to pursue their vision, opportunities to showcase their work, pathways for sustainable careers in the arts, and a community where they can exchange ideas and be inspired by different creative approaches.
The awardees were recognized at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila (The M) on September 17, 2026, marking the opening of the 2026 MADE exhibition.
Taking on the Grand Award for Oil or Acrylic on Canvas is Vince Martin Macatangay with his work entitled “Sonder: Sa Bawat Mundong ‘Di Ko Matahak (Sonder: In Worlds Beyond My Reach).”
The piece tells viewers to consider the lives they can never fully know and their own place within the much larger stories of others and brings together multiple figures and movements to evoke countless stories unfolding simultaneously, while its distorted figures reflect the complexity of realities.
“Sonder” describes the realization that every person one encounters has a life as complex and vivid as one’s own, filled with their own relationships, ambitions, routines, and worries.
Macatangay shared that he came up with the concept through someone who described him as “sonder-coded” before that person passed away. Since then, the idea stayed with him and eventually became the foundation for 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,” he explained.
Meanwhile, thevGrand Award for Mixed Media went to Kennette Luague’s for “Taya (Bet),” which draws from the lives of workers who make daily sacrifices and take risks for their families and their future.
At the center of the work is a person caught within a chaotic system, yet still choosing to move forward, which for Luague is the true 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,” shared Luague, who used materials such as wood and billiard cloth to create the artwork symbolizing hope for his fellow Filipino workers.
Last, but not least, is the Grand Award for Sculpture that was conferred to Aldrin Olaguir for “Hinahalal, Binabanal (The Chosen, the Sanctified).”
The piece of work begins with a familiar religious object: the holy water font. But instead of water, the basin holds a hardened formation, with a crocodile figure behind it suggesting power and corruption.
The work explores the idea of a “necessary evil” and how choices that are repeatedly made can eventually become accepted, justified, or even treated as something sacred.
“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,” Olaguir shared.
The 2026 MADE grand awardees each received PhP500,000 worth of prizes (PhP350,000 in cash and PhP150,000 scholarship to the Eskinita Art Residency Program in 2027) and the coveted “More” trophy sculpted this year in copper by the renowned artist and 2007 MADE awardee Juan Sajid.
The 2026 MADE winners were selected by a distinguished panel of art practitioners, curators, writers, and creative industry leaders.
The panel was chaired by sculptor Reginald Yusonz who was him joined by painter and former MADE awardee Mark Andy Garcia; mixed media artist Ling Quisumbing Ramilo; MADE 2026 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 OIC Lara Acuin; Vinyl Gallery co-founder and co-director Gaby dela Merced; and CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division OIC Rica Estrada.
The Metrobank Foundation also awarded Special Citations to Raphael Daniel David for Sculpture for Mirror of Consequence: Millisecond Before Light: Richard Montero for Mixed Media for Puno ng Kwento (Full of Stories): and Arvin Cantalejo Jr. and Artgiveson Arreglado for Oil or Acrylic on Canvas for Echoes Beneath My Skin and To Weather With You, respectively.
Each of them received PhP100,000 and the More trophy.
Meanwhile, the MADE Exhibition is open for free to the public from September 18 to October 18, with the month-long exhibition featuring nearly 100 works from different parts of the country that advanced to the semifinals of the competition, including those of the grand awardees.
