ALT Art holds biggest edition yet at SMX Pasay

ALT ART 2026, in partnership with BDO Private Banking, is set to return for its biggest edition yet, featuring works by over 300 artists and moving to a larger venue this weekend.

Led by ALT Collectives — a consortium of nine of the country’s premier galleries, namely Artinformal, Blanc, The Drawing Room, Galleria Duemila, Finale Art File, MO_Space, Underground, Vinyl on Vinyl, and West Gallery — the collective’s 4^th edition will be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City from Feb. 13 to 15.

The ALT Collective said the exhibition’s Project Spaces will continue to push conceptual possibilities, and this year will feature works by Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Buen Calubayan, Julie Lluch, Kiri Dalena, Ben Brixx, Raffy Napay, MM Yu, Kolown and Christina Lopez, Mauro “Malang” Santos, Lesley-Ann Cao, and Iwan Effendi.

A dedicated space for multimedia artist Miguel Lorenzo Uy will also be showcased, co-presented by food brand Nagaraya.

The exhibition also introduces the Discoveries section, a new platform that focuses on emerging and critically engaged artistic practices. Designed to amplify fresh perspectives, the inaugural lineup is made up of JC Mariategue, Jomari T’leon, Joar Songcuya, Allyza Tresvalles, Eric Bico, Gelo Cinco, Joanolasco, Rhaz Oriente, and Marco Ortiga.

Vinyl on Vinyl gallery owner Gabby B. Dela Merced told BusinessWorld that the expanded venue, spanning 5,000 square meters, has allowed the collective to feature more artists and project spaces while offering greater freedom to experiment with the layout.

“Before, we only had, I think, four or five project spaces — a very selected number of artists that we collectively agreed upon. This time, each gallery had the opportunity to select a particular artist, so there’s a lot more personal voice that comes into the mix,” Ms. Dela Merced said at the sidelines of the ALT Art press conference on Monday.

The ALT Collective gave a walkthrough of the upcoming exhibition layout, which has been intentionally designed to create a cohesive flow that connects audience members with works presented by the artists from each gallery.

“We don’t call it a booth; we call it a space, because we’ve broken down the usual three-wall setting, which is very strict in terms of parameters,” she added.

Despite each gallery bringing its own approach and curatorial vision, Ms. Dela Merced said the collective found common ground in the exhibition’s overall programming.

During all public days, a conversation program is set to take place at the BDO Conversations Lounge, scheduled between 2 and 4 p.m. daily, during which time the stories behind the artworks will be discussed, alongside conversations on contemporary art and creative practices.

ALT ART 2026 tickets are available online at http://www.ticket2me.net/event/22773 and are priced at P250 for students and P500 for regular visitors. — Edg Adrian A. Eva