The SMX Convention Center is familiar to many: its neutral-toned halls, spacious and unassuming, allow events to define themselves within the architecture. Walking into Halls 1 and 2 on 12 February, the opening day of ALT ART 2026, I expected partition walls holding paintings, curated typography, perhaps subtle nods to minimalism or design trends. I expected the predictable.
Instead, what greeted me first was a towering black-and-white photograph. Two boys stared from the print, one missing his left eye as if the world had taken it in an instant. The image might have set a sombre tone, yet it thrilled me, inviting curiosity about what lay beyond. ALT ART 2026, now in its fourth edition, is the annual showcase of the ALT Collective, comprising nine of the country’s premier galleries⸺Artinformal, Blanc, The Drawing Room, Galleria Duemila, Finale Art File, MO_Space, Underground, Vinyl on Vinyl, and West Gallery. This year, almost 300 artists participate, making it the collective’s most ambitious exhibition yet.
Tina Fernandez of Artinformal reflected, “Art’s value is in how many eyes can see it.” She added, “The worst thing an artwork can do is inspire indifference.” ALT ART thrives on this energy. Beyond technical mastery or composition, the works chosen linger in memory, provoke thought, and demand engagement. Art becomes dialogue, alive through the viewer’s participation, rather than static display.
The exhibition itself resembles a maze of pocket dimensions. Each gallery presents its own vision, yet there is no overarching theme. Instead, the materiality of art—its texture, weight, and presence—emerges as a subtle unifying principle. Sitting areas and lingering spaces encourage reflection, conversation, and immersion. Visitors navigate narrow passages between sound installations, light and video works, and photography exhibits. One can converse with the artists, learn about their poetics, the philosophies behind creation. Iwan Effendi of Vinyl on Vinyl shared how his background in puppetry shaped his installation, focusing on the relationship between body and object. His works—spanning a mural, paintings, sculptures, and graphite drawings—explore the relationship between the body and the object, engaging themes of movement, visibility, and expression. Effendi noted that puppetry renders the controller invisible and the puppet alive, much like art that ultimately comes alive through audience interaction and interpretation.
Allyza Tresvalles from Lucban, Quezon, made her ALT debut in the new DISCOVERIES SECTION with “Igkas sa Lilim ng Gawin” (“A Leap Beyond the Shadow of Tradition”). Her work bridges heritage and contemporary expression. Drawing from local crafts such as weaving, pottery, and metalwork, and combining it with more modern forms such as painting, sculpture, and installation, her pieces navigate the space between material and meaning. Her exhibit reflects how tradition is not merely preserved, but continually reshaped, enduring, adapting, and expanding to mirror each generation’s evolving identity.
Reg Yuson’s “NIMBUS” offers a contrasting meditation on form. A delicate yet commanding sculpture, it captivates through its remarkable precision. By bringing together igneous rock and stainless steel, Yuson transforms dense, earthly materials into a composition that feels improbably light. The rocks seem to drift like clouds, suspended in quiet defiance of gravity.
The work blurs the boundary between weight and air, solidity and illusion, inviting viewers to reconsider the physical limits of the materials themselves.. Visitors are invited to reconsider the physical limits of materials, to see what is possible when control yields to vision.
Historical and political narratives appear in Kiri Dalena and Ben Brix’s “Birds of Prey”, which reworks historical photographs and texts sourced from a museum archive, materials once deployed as American colonial propaganda to argue that the Philippines was unfit for independence. Through painted interventions and the overlay of a censored editorial’s audio, the installation reframes these images as sites of critique rather than authority. The duo approaches the archive with deliberate restraint, altering the photographs to expose without replicating their original violence. The work underscores how Filipino men were depicted to dramatize “civilization,” while Filipinas were progressively stripped and sexualized, revealing the politics embedded in colonial image-making and the necessity of re-examining such records through a contemporary lens.
Conceptual installations such as Christina Quisumbing Ramilo’s “Still We Hope” occupy the PROJECT SPACES section. The scaffolding sculpture suggests the promise of a staircase, yet leads nowhere. Built from scrap wood and meter sticks set in divergent directions, the piece reflects the tension between hope and resignation in the quest for progress. It is a structure that rises with purpose, even with the uncertainty of whether it will reach its goal.
ALT ART 2026 is as much about relationships as it is about artworks. Galleries cultivate trust with artists, valuing longevity and the dialogue between creator and audience. Fernandez notes that inclusion in the exhibition relies on more than technical skill. It reflects resonance, memorability, and the potential for continued relevance. Baby Imperial of All At Once, the exhibition’s spatial and branding curator, adds that the design of ALT ART encourages hybrid thinking and reimagining narratives, where spaces for sitting, reflection, and conversation are as essential as the art on display.
Emerging artists are highlighted in the DISCOVERIES SECTION, including JC Mariategue, Jomari T’leon, Joar Songcuya, Allyza Tresvalles, Eric Bico, Gelo Cinco, Joanolasco, Rhaz Oriente, and Marco Ortiga, offering fresh perspectives and new energy to the exhibition. Visitors may also pause at scattered drink booths or the pop-up café, finding moments of joy amidst contemplation. The design invites wandering, alone or in company, as the art gradually enfolds the observer into its rhythm.
ALT ART 2026 is exhilarating yet calm, a touch of joie de vivre in every corridor. It allows for reflection, conversation, and appreciation of creativity as a living practice. It is both a celebration and a meditation, reminding us that art persists not merely in technique, but in the act of seeing, thinking, and being present. Here, the audience becomes participant, and every glance, pause, and gesture is part of the collective experience.
The exhibition runs until 15 February 2026. Tickets are priced at P500 for regular visitors, and P250 for students via Ticket2me. A daily conversation programme at the BDO Conversations Lounge, co-presented by BDO Private Banking, runs at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ALT ART 2026 is co-presented by Nagaraya and supported by The Friends of ALT, Boysen, Samsung, The Moment Group, Terry’s Bistro, Arc Gin, Savea Bay City Manila, Lifestyle Asia, Bluprint, and Lifestyle Inquirer.