ManilArt 2026 explores where the line begins

Before form, color, texture, and volume, there is the line. This first gesture of visual creation anchors the eighteenth edition of ManilArt, which runs from 14 to 18 October at the SMX Aura Convention Center in Taguig City. With the theme “Where the Line Begins,” the fair brings together galleries, artists, collectors, and cultural communities to explore how a drawn mark becomes an image, a character, or a story.

More than 35 large pavilion booths will present works by over 600 artists. Alongside the gallery displays, special features trace the line through Filipino komiks, contemporary games, Larry Alcala’s cartoons and Patis Tesoro’s illustrations.

From komiks to contemporary play

Presented with the Seven Lakes Komiks Festival and supported by the Komikero Komiks Museum in San Pablo, Laguna, the fair’s komiks feature honors artists who helped shape the Filipino imagination.

Among them are National Artist Francisco V. Coching, the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators”; Mars Ravelo, creator of Darna; Tony Velasquez, creator of Kenkoy and widely regarded as the father of Filipino comics; and Alfredo Alcala, whose draftsmanship and imaginative worlds, including Voltar, gained recognition here and abroad.

The feature also pays tribute to Gerry Alanguilan, who championed the preservation of Philippine komiks and founded the Komikero Komiks Museum to safeguard the work of earlier generations of komikeros.

Partner Larong Atin carries these familiar worlds into contemporary play through games based on Darna, Lastikman and Combatron. Its latest project, Encantadia: War of Gems, based on the GMA fantasy series with a following across generations, will launch at the fair. The company has also brought Filipino game design to international fairs and markets and co-organized the inaugural Asian Board Games Festival Philippines in 2026.

Larry Alcala at 100

A special roadshow presentation of Return to the Popular: Drawing the Filipino Imagination brings the centennial exhibition of National Artist Larry Alcala from the Manila Metropolitan Theater to ManilArt.

The exhibition revisits Alcala’s contribution to Philippine popular visual culture, from his iconic Slice of Life cartoons to the characters and everyday observations that made his drawings familiar to generations of Filipinos. His work offers another way of following the fair’s central theme: the line as a means of capturing the humor, habits, and details of daily life.

Patis Tesoro illustrates heritage

Newly named National Artist for design Maria Beatriz “Patis” Tesoro brings another dimension to the fair through a selection of illustrations and visual works. Known for her work in Filipiniana fashion, indigenous textiles, and traditional craftsmanship, Tesoro depicts colorful Filipiniana themes in a playful, naïf-inspired style.

Her participation coincides with the launch of a coloring book developed with the Department of Education. Featuring her illustrations, the project introduces young learners to Filipino visual culture while encouraging their own creative expression.