A cultural wish list for 2026
I wish for an expansion in the meaning and function of the National Artist Award. Since its inception at the start of Martial Law, the Marcoses devised this accolade to honor the achievements of Filipino artists deemed to have had a massive impact on the nation.
Over time, however, some sectors have come to regard the award less as a cultural honor and more as a boost to the valuation of collections and a matter of bragging rights. As we move deeper into the 21st century, this accolade must reexamine its criteria and significance within a cultural landscape overrun by virality and foreign domination.
We must ask anew: How do we define an artist today, and what does “Filipino-ness” mean in an era of multiple identities?
I wish galleries would respect the artists. For so long, the country’s art scene has been dominated by galleries that wield significant influence over clients and the market.
In 2025, there has been a spate of shameless abuse against artists by specific galleries. The treatment is abhorrent, including unpaid commissions, delayed payments, and dangling promises of wealth and greatness to naïve young artists. This ugly practice, which is sadly normalized, should be called out consistently because the artists are laborers, not instruments for an investment portfolio, or worse, part of nefarious schemes.
I wish the biennales would give others a chance, not just the usual suspects—no further comment needed.
I wish for more presence and participation of marginalized groups in the art world. I wish there were more avenues for people who have been ignored, or worse, tokenized by our culture. Given the emphasis on marginalization, there should be a shift of focus and scrutiny toward alternative art techniques and materials.
The Philippine art world remains small, insular, and dominated by men who mistake seriousness for depth—often clad in dark colors, stroking their chins, performing sonorousness for the camera. This culture of coolness leaves little room for those who do not already fit its image.
I wish more people and a larger audience would expect artists to engage in social commentary that elicits hopes for progress. Too many people relegate the arts to fluff, leisure, decoration, and entertainment, when history shows this is not the case.
Many of the rebels and upstarts have been artists who evoke intense feelings in people, which eventually lead to change. I recall one artist telling me, “I am not political. I create beauty.” I told the artist that beauty is political.
After all, the power to declare what is beautiful and what is ugly is itself an act of power. If politics is, at its core, a contest over power, then art has always been political. So, more power to the arts in 2026.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
