Find creativity in community in this month’s art events

Looking to get your art fix this month? With September recognized as the Philippine Creative Industries Month (PCIM) by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), you’ll find plenty of opportunities to honor Filipino creativity, artistry, innovation, and cultural heritage, and how they contribute to national progress. We’ve rounded up a few of them to give you ideas on where, when, and how you can get your creative juices flowing while also celebrating our multifaceted cultural identity. Check out these events, spur your own creative concepts, and discover opportunities for connection. 

What: Free film screenings with Pelikula at Pilipina

Who: Film Development Council of the Philippines

Where: Various locations across Metro Manila

When: Runs until September 27

In honor of the women filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, producers, and cinematographers who have shaped, led, and transformed Philippine cinema, both on the big screen and behind the camera, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) celebrates Philippine Film Industry Month (PFIM) 2025 by putting the spotlight on the industry’s women icons from the past until the present. Enjoy the following filmic classics through free tribute screenings from September 18 to 20 at the Cinema 6 of SM North EDSA:

• • Anak, in honor of producer Malou Santos
  • Madrasta, in honor of director Olivia Lamasan
  • Tanging Yaman, in honor of cinematographer Lee Briones-Meily
  • Hihintayin Kita sa Langit, in honor of writer Raquel Villavicencio
  • Mortal, in honor of actress Gina Alajar

Pelikula at Pilipina also has more women-centric film showings for local cinephiles across the country:

• • Anak Dalita (1956), directed by National Artist Lamberto Avellana, September 12 at Teatro, Fort Santiago
  • The restored Sisa (1951), directed by Gerardo De Leon, September 21 at the Metropolitan Theater
  • Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus (2018), directed by Dwein Baltazar, September 20 at SM North EDSA

FDCP’s popular initiative Pelikula ng Bayan makes its return as well with Sine50 screenings of the following films at the SM Mall of Asia, TriNoma, Robinsons Galleria Ortigas, and the Gateway Mall:

• • Big Night! (2021), directed by Jun Robles Lana
  • Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus (2018), directed by Dwein Baltazar
  • Miss Bulalacao (2015), directed by Ara Chawdhury
  • Dagitab (2014), directed by Giancarlo Abrahan
  • Patay na si Hesus (2016), directed by Victor Villanueva
  • Apocalypse Child (2015), directed by Mario Cornejo

Register to secure your seat at Pelikula at Pilipina’s Tribute Screening for free here. Learn more about FDCP’s other activities in store for the rest of the month on their website. 

What: Nagsasalitang Ulo

Who: Mich Dulce

Where: Tall Gallery @ Finale Art File

When: September 5-27, 2025

Designer, milliner, and corsetiere Mich Dulce heads back home to Manila for a solo exhibit. A long-time champion of Filipino craftsmanship and the use of ethically sourced indigenous materials, Dulce has made a name for herself internationally with her fantastical hats and headpieces that seamlessly weave Filipino heritage with a global contemporary style. Marvel at her latest creations and see how traditional Philippine crafts and raw materials fit right in with high art and fashion.

Finale Art File is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am - 7 pm. It is located at Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound (Gate 1), 2241 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.

What: Manila Illustration Fair 2025

Where: University of the Philippines Fine Arts Galleries and Spaces (Parola)

When: September 12-14, 2025

Illustrating can be such a solitary process. Good thing, then, that the Manila Illustration Fair is making its return this year to once again facilitate activities and provide the space for Filipino illustrators to connect, collaborate, and just chill together. Under the theme “Making Space,” MIF 2025 intends to help artists carve out opportunities for storytelling and learning from both personal and collective experiences. The non-profit project also has a mission to use art and illustration as tools for building positive and progressive societal change. Whether you’re an established illustrator, just starting out with doodling, or somewhere in between, find an MIF activity to join—nature walking, gig-poster making, zine making, and more—by checking out the fair’s Instagram page. 

The Manila Illustration Fair will be held at the University of the Philippines Fine Arts Galleries and Spaces (Parola), UP College of Fine Arts, Bartlett Hall, E. Jacinto St., University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.

What: Art2Wear 

Who: Steve De Leon and Joel Wijangco

Where: Yuchengco Museum

When: Runs until October 2025

Design and art converge in wearable form at Art2Wear, an exhibit that features the visionary works of couturier Steve De Leon and footwear designer Joel Wijangco. A celebration of the intersection of creativity, function, and expression, it showcases De Leon’s mastery of using indigenous materials to create high-fashion yet very wearable pieces and Wijangco’s narrative-driven shoe designs that result in highly conceptual yet functional handcrafted footwear. Witness how clothing and shoes can become canvases for cultural memory and imagination, and how style is a form of personal statement.

The Yuchengco Museum is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am - 6 pm. It is located at the RCBC Plaza at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue in Makati. 

What: Ateneo Art Awards 2025 Exhibit of the 12 shortlisted artists and writers

Where: Ateneo Art Gallery

When: Runs until December 7, 2025

Immerse yourself in the best of what Filipino contemporary art has to offer. Visit the Ateneo Art Gallery to see excellent exhibitions from the past year that have made it to the Ateneo Art Awards 2025 shortlist for the Fernando Zobel Prizes for Visual Art. 

The 12 finalists and their respective exhibits are: 

• • Lesley Anne-Cao’s If time is an arrow, what is its target
  • Uri de Ger’s Beauty is in the Eye of the Colonizer
  • Lui Gonzales, A Tree Is A Seed As It Falls
  • Silke Lapina’s Bakit Pa
  • Celline Marge Mercado’s Between the Lines
  • Hannah Reyes Morales’s Home Holds Still
  • Veronica Peralejo’s A Tiny Ball of Mud
  • Issay Rodriguez’s gathering, collecting, ongoingness
  • Eunice Sanchez’s Sa Ilog Nagtatagpo
  • Jel Suarez’s - As I Lift One Stone
  • Vien Valencia’s Totems
  • Jezzel Wee’s to weigh seeds, pulling through 

Aside from the Ateneo Art Awards 2025 Awarding Ceremony, which will be held on October 5, also at the Ateneo Art Gallery, there will be the announcement of the People’s Choice Poll winner on December 7. This recognition would be voted on by gallery visitors throughout the show’s run, so dropping by will give you the chance to cast your vote for your favorite exhibition among the finalists.

You can read up, too, on thoughtful essays discussing the current art milieu, written by the Ateneo Art Awards’ shortlisted writers for the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism. 

In the English category, the finalists are:

• • Bea Belen-Ferrer’s “In Between Flight and Fallout: What Would Postwar Modernists Do?”
  • Abigail Buendia’s “When the City Catches Fire: In Defense of Carla Gamalinda's Open City”
  • Pie Tiausas’s “The internet is a space for the lonely”
  • Tyra Maria Trono’s “Wings for 99 Pesos: On the Sentimental Weight of Dollar-Store Objects and the Imagination of Flight”
  • Denzel Yorong’s “Martino Abellana and the myth of legacy”

For the Filipino category, the finalists are: 

• • Mavs Alviar’s “Through the Fire: Kung masasaksihan mo lang ang mundo at ang ningning ng mga alipato mula sa ilalim ng mga basket at banig”
  • Emersan Baldemor’s “Hindi Lahat ng Umaangat ay Naaalala: Si Tandang Ano at ang Politikang Estetiko ng Paglimot”
  • Eric Jhon Bituin’s “Mga Paang Namumugto: Sining, Pandemya, at ang Lumalakad sa Gilid ng Daan”
  • Josh Paradeza’s “Ang Tuloy-tuloy na Pagpapalagay sa Winala, Nawawala, Nawalan ni Ides Macapanpan”
  • MJ Rafal’s “Ang Lipad at Liyab sa A Sea on Fire II ni Joar Songcuya”

The Ateneo Art Gallery is located at the Soledad V. Pangilinan Arts Wing, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Heights Campus, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

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Banner image is the main poster illustration for the Manila Illustration Fair 2025. 

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