19 March 2026
Ten artists and designers from across the Philippines have been selected as grantees for the second edition of Benilde Open Design and Art, a grant program that supports new and unrealized creative work. The names of the grantees were revealed during the program’s media launch on March 11 at the Benilde Design and Arts Campus Theater.
The announcement was made at the Benilde Design + Arts Campus, where members of the media, artists, and creative industry leaders gathered for the launch of the 2026 edition. Each selected project will receive a production grant of P300,000 to support the development of work that responds to this year’s theme, Extension of Nature.
The open call received more than 130 proposals from artists, architects, designers, filmmakers, and interdisciplinary practitioners. The selected projects span installation, moving image, speculative design, material experimentation, and socially engaged practice.
Designer and convenor Rita Nazareno welcomed guests by describing Benilde Open as a space for unfinished ideas and bold experimentation. “Benilde Open is more than an exhibition. It is a space for creative democracy, for bold ideas and for experiments that challenge boxes,” she said.
Benilde President Br. Edmundo “Dodo” Fernandez FSC spoke about the value of uncertain beginnings in both art and innovation. Drawing from examples such as Cubism, abstract expressionism, and the accidental invention of the Post-it note, he spoke about how many important ideas began as experiments that were initially misunderstood. “These ideas all started uncertain and experimental,” he said. “That is precisely why Benilde Open exists.”
Executive Director Dindin Araneta then introduced the theme of the 2026 edition, Extension of Nature. The theme asks artists and designers to imagine how technological systems and natural processes might intersect and evolve together.
“What if machines could breathe? What if materials could evolve?” Araneta said. She explained that the theme encourages artists to think about climate change, ecological instability, and the possibility of designing technologies that work with natural systems rather than against them.
Participation in the exhibition was determined through an open call and evaluated by an international selection committee composed of Freddie Anzures, Creative Partner at HPIQ, Jiho Lee, curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, architect Mireia Luzárraga of TAKK, Natalie Huni, Managing Director and Head of Design at Wells Fargo, and Timothy Moore, curator of contemporary design and architecture at the National Gallery of Victoria and director of Melbourne Design Week.
Convenor Ayi Magpayo introduced the ten selected projects, noting the wide range of approaches among the finalists.
Among the grantees is artist Karl Castro, whose project Locus Pocus: Kinetic Social Infrastructures for Rest and Collective Care imagines public space as a living system shaped by human presence and ecological memory. Castro said the project was inspired by the forgotten relationship between Manila and water. “I wanted people to think about our literal relationship with water here,” he said, referring to the marshlands and waterways that once defined the area around Manila Bay.
Filmmaker and artist Kiri Dalena, working with collaborator Ben Brix, will present Common Ground, a multi screen video installation exploring life on Negros Island. The work examines how ecological volatility and colonial agricultural histories continue to shape everyday experience.
Media artist Mac Andre Arboleda will develop Nutrition Month (Presented by Mayor Alice Guo), a conceptual radio series that examines land, water, body, and cloud through a sonic archive format. Arboleda described the importance of grants in supporting artists whose work is research driven and independent from commercial systems. “These kinds of grants are critical,” he said. “They make art possible.”
Other projects confront the realities of climate change through speculative design and installation. Nicolei Racal’s What If Snow Falls in the Philippines? imagines a fictional climate catastrophe through a textile based installation, while Mikael Joaquin’s The Memory of Flood is an experimental video installation set in a future Manila reshaped by rising waters.
Architectural studio Uno Sinotra, led by Mona and Buddy Ong, will present Atlas of Water Futures, an inflatable dome installation developed from workshops with children in Cebu who were asked to imagine how their city might respond to flooding. “We asked them what they would do if water kept rising,” the architects explained. “The bubble came from that workshop.”
Several projects explore everyday rituals and material culture through new forms. Designer Bianca Carague will create Technospoonism: Wearable Cutlery for a Reimagined Kamayan, a speculative jewelry collection that reimagines the Filipino tradition of eating with the hands. Rings become forks, cuffs function as plates, and pendants serve as vessels for food.
Niño Tayao’s Datirati revisits childhood play through a stacking toy made from agricultural waste such as rice husks, corn husks, and starch. The project treats material experimentation as a way to think about ecological responsibility and the life cycle of everyday objects.
Urban space and civic life also appear in several projects. Andi Osmeña’s Waste of Space responds to the scarcity of accessible public areas in Metro Manila. Using simple post industrial materials, the project proposes temporary gathering spaces that communities can build themselves.
Meanwhile, artist Krishner Appay from Sulu will present A Cultural Revival of the Tausug Luhul Giyuting Tree of Life, an exhibition of appliqué textiles developed with local artisans. The project aims to keep traditional textile knowledge alive by sharing it with wider audiences and younger generations.
Alongside the main grantees, Benilde Open also introduced the Best of Benilde grants, which support student and alumni projects. Each selected project will receive P50,000 pesos along with curatorial support and mentorship.
The exhibition for Benilde Open Design and Art 2026 will open to the public from April 12 to 27 at the Benilde Design + Arts Campus. Installations will be presented across several spaces including the twelfth floor gallery and the sixth floor hallway.
Visitors will also be able to view the ongoing exhibition Poets of Physics at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, located at the Benilde Design + Arts Campus. During the launch, MCAD Director Joselina ‘Yeyey’ Cruz spoke about how the exhibition explores the relationship between artistic practice and scientific ideas. The show features artists who work with physical forces such as gravity, light, and pressure, turning them into sensory experiences. Cruz noted that this approach sits closely with the questions raised by Benilde Open this year, where artists are also asked to think about how technology, materials, and natural systems interact.
With projects that range from experimental installations to cultural preservation, the 2026 edition continues the program’s goal of supporting artists and designers whose ideas are still taking shape.
As Brother Dodo told the audience during the launch, some of the most influential ideas begin not with certainty but with experimentation. “And that,” he said, “is exactly where new possibilities begin.”
Benilde Open Design + Art is a grant initiative of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde that supports unrealized interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of art, design, technology, and sustainability. For updates, follow @benildeopen on Instagram and TikTok, and BenildeOpen on Facebook. Inquiries may be sent to benildeopen@benilde.edu.ph.
