Art often springs from the everyday: a fleeting thought, a chance encounter, a struggle glimpsed in daily life, or a question that lingers and refuses to fade.
For the three grand awardees of the 2026 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) Competition, these beginnings blossomed into deeply personal works that delve into how people find their way in the world.
Inspired by their own journeys and the world they inhabit, Vince Martin A. Macatangay, Kennette A. Luague, and Aldrin B. Olaguir turned themes of connection, perseverance, power, and survival into art that urges viewers to pause and see with fresh eyes.
Their creations rose from a pool of over 600 submissions nationwide, a testament to the vibrant spirit and diversity of the Philippine art scene.
This year, MADE received over 600 submissions from artists across the country, showing the diversity, talent, and vitality of the Philippine art community,”
said Metrobank Foundation President Philip Francisco U. Dy.
Their works remind us that Filipino artists continue to participate deeply with the world around them and contribute original perspectives to the conversations forming our society.”
Seeing the lives beyond our own
For Macatangay, a single word sparked the journey to his winning painting. His Sonder: Sa Bawat Mundong’ Di Ko Matahak (Sonder: In Worlds Beyond My Reach) explores the realization that every person we meet has a life as complex and vivid as our own—complete with relationships, ambitions, routines, fears, and dreams.
Macatangay first encountered the concept after someone described him as “sonder-coded.” The person later passed away, but the idea stayed with him and eventually became the foundation of his winning work.
The painting weaves together a tapestry of figures and motion, evoking countless lives unfolding side by side. Its warped shapes echo reality’s tangled complexity and the mystery of other people’s worlds.
Sa painting, hinihigop ang simuno patungo sa siklo ng walang-hanggang daloy ng oras, sumasagisag sa walang katapusang interaksyon sa di-mabilang na buhay,”
explains Macatangay.
The result transforms an abstract concept into something viewers can see—and perhaps feel. Gazing at the painting invites us to consider that every passerby holds a universe of stories we may never glimpse.
Taking a chance on hope
For mixed media grand awardee Luague, inspiration struck much closer to home. Her work, Taya (Bet), draws from the lives of workers who make sacrifices and take risks in the hope of creating better futures for themselves and their families.
At the center of the piece is a person seemingly caught within a chaotic system. Yet rather than portraying someone powerless, Luague presents a figure who keeps moving forward. For her, that decision—to keep going despite uncertainty—is itself a form of courage.
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 upang harapin ang hamon.”
Luague shared.
She crafted her work from humble materials like wood and billiard cloth. In her hands, these ordinary objects become emblems of risk, resilience, and hope.
Taya stands as a tribute to Filipino workers who keep betting on tomorrow, even when the odds remain uncertain.
When the familiar begins to look different
Sculptor Aldrin B. Olaguir charts a different course, starting with an object instantly familiar to many Filipinos. His winning work, Hinahalal, Binabanal (The Chosen, the Sanctified), takes the form of a holy water font. But instead of water, its basin holds a hardened formation, while a crocodile figure behind it evokes power and corruption.
What was once familiar now feels strange, and this transformation lies at the heart of Olaguir’s creation. The sculpture probes how what was once seen as wrong can, through repetition and exposure, slowly become accepted, justified, and even revered. Rather than telling viewers what to think, the work invites them to question what they may have stopped questioning.
Growing up in the Philippines, survival conditions influenced me, inherited moral systems, and fragmented histories shaped by colonial interruption and cultural layering,”
Olaguir shared.
These experiences drive me to construct symbolic systems and narrative frameworks that reinterpret erased or distorted cultural histories.”
His creation captures the spirit of this year’s MADE theme, TRAVERSE: Creativity in Motion, inviting us to journey through new ways of thinking, experiencing, and expressing through art.
Art that begins with looking closely
Though each artist takes a unique path, their works share a restless curiosity: a drive to peer beneath the surface of the world and question what we think we know.
Macatangay looks at the invisible lives of other people. Luague looks at the risks people take in pursuit of hope. Olaguir examines how power, history, and repeated choices can change our sense of right and wrong.
Together, their art reveals how contemporary Filipino artists can turn observation and lived experience into powerful conversations about society, identity, and the ties that bind us.
MADE also champions artists’ freedom to explore and express their own perspectives. MADE opens doors for artists to grow, share their creations, build lasting careers, and connect with a vibrant community of fellow creatives.
For Olaguir, the competition’s open theme is particularly meaningful.
What I appreciate most about the 2026 MADE Competition is its open theme, It gives artists the freedom to create works that truly correspond to their own practice and vision, while also becoming a platform to showcase the best of their craft.”
The three grand awardees each received ₱500,000 in prizes, consisting of ₱350,000 in cash and a ₱150,000 scholarship to the Eskinita Art Residency Program in 2027. They also received the “More” trophy, sculpted this year in copper by renowned artist and 2007 MADE awardee Juan Sajid.
Special Citations were also awarded to Raphael Daniel O. David for Mirror of Consequence: Millisecond Before Light in Sculpture; Richard D. Montero for Puno ng Kwento (Full of Stories) in Mixed Media; and Arvin C. Cantalejo Jr. and Artgiveson C. Arreglado for Echoes Beneath My Skin and To Weather With You, respectively, in Oil or Acrylic on Canvas. Each received ₱100,000 and the More trophy.
Selected by a distinguished panel of artists, curators, writers, and creative industry leaders chaired by sculptor Reginald Yuson, the winning works now form part of the 2026 MADE exhibition.
Held at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila (The M), the exhibition features nearly 100 works from artists across the country who advanced to the semifinals, including the three grand awardees.
For audiences, the exhibition is more than a showcase of award-winning art. It beckons them to pause, look deeper, and perhaps find echoes of their own lives within these stories. The 2026 MADE exhibition runs until October 18 and is free to the public.
Ultimately, the works of Macatangay, Luague, and Olaguir remind us that art’s magic is not always in leading us to the unknown. Sometimes, its true power lies in urging us to look anew at the people, choices, struggles, and realities woven into our everyday lives—and to see them with fresh eyes.
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