1335Mabini is a shot in the arm for a portion of Manila that needs a bit of art and culture in its…read moreeveryday cycle. 1335Mabini is a multidisciplinary space for contemporary art, with over 700 square meters devoted to art, art, and more art. This gallery supports artistic creation through exhibitions, workshops, lectures and their own artist-in-residence program. The Gallery is situated in the old Casa Tesoro, a name more synonymous with Filipino souvenirs and stuff. At any given time, 1335Mabini will be exhibiting contemporary art exhibits bordering on "Far Out" and "WTF" (Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about), as well as a performance piece or two. I remember watching a female artist do "macho man" dance moves during a performance two years back. You know, gay bar stuff, but by a woman. It was weirdly unnerving, but then that was the point of the whole thing, right? Manila is not lacking for art galleries and art shops, but they're very cookie-cutter and safe with their exhibitions and whatnot. If you want your art to push the bounderies, you have to check out 1335Mabini. You will not be disappointed.

When you are an artist looking for some inspiration, better head to the National Art Gallery and be…read moreinspired by works of the great masters! Art Gallery is one of the buildings that make up the National Museum. The other one being the Museum of the Filipino People (which I highly suggest you visit as well). The Art Gallery houses the very popular Spoliarium by Juan Luna (yes, years of hearing this in the classroom over and over again finally paid off) and also The Assassination of Governor Bustamante (El Asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. I would like to thank my teacher in my Jose Rizal course in college for teaching me everything I needed to know about these paintings. After you have been mesmerized by those two paintings, which by the way, is located in the old House of Representatives Session Hall, you will encounter the 1st Gallery that houses religious artifacts dating back from the 17th-19th centuries. Then more paintings await you upstairs. Two of my favorite galleries are the Gallery IV: Academic and Neoclassical Sculpture and Gallery V: Homage to Dr. José Rizal.

The National Art Gallery, the art arm of the National Museum, is a rather impressive collection of…read morenotable and historically significant local artworks. The building that houses this gallery used to be the Legislature building, and served double-duty as the home of the Senate of the Philippines until 1996. Talk about relics. Just to clear up some confusion, when locals point to this building as the National Museum, they're technically half-right. Up until a decade ago, this building WAS the whole National Museum. Now, the artifacts of the National Museum have been divided between two buildings, with all the anthropological stuff moved to The Museum of the Filipino People at the former Finance Building. This building, however, still houses the Natural Sciences exhibits until the National Museum of Natural History building has been completed. Now with that out of the way... Admission to both museums is at P150 from Monday to Saturdays. On Sundays, you can come in for free. The P150 is a steal from the first hall alone when you scope out the first painting you will see: The Spoliarium. The Spoliarium, a huge mural depicting fallen gladiators, is arguably the most important artwork done by a Filipino (Juan Luna). The artworks featured in the building are divided by time periods, and I won't go discussing them in detail because hey, my idea of a masterpiece would probably differ from yours. But you know what? Do yourself a favor and go through the entire museum. It's a fascinating peek on how we as a people, historically speaking, took so-called "elitist" art forms and made it our own. The building itself is an attraction; do check out the former Senate Plenary Hall and take it all in.

Ysobel Art Gallery is among the cluster of art galleries found on the second floor of Serendra…read more They're home to contemporary art from masters and emerging artists from the local art scene. It is a very small gallery and you can view all the pieces in one go. You could just stay in the middle of the gallery and you'll see everything. Currently on exhibit is Ronante Maratas' first solo show entitled Fragile Bones. The show had its run until today, June 1st. Depending on where you go up the escalator at Serendra, don't miss out this gallery. It may be small but it packs a lot of content. They really love colorful contemporary art! And they do shows, too, and join art fairs.

Nova Gallery is in the same compound as Finale Art File. You could hit two birds with one stone…read morewith a visit at La Fuerza Compound in Chino Roces. Unlike Finale Art File, Nova Gallery is smaller than its neighbour. It's very minimalist with its white walls and wood work at the upstairs gallery. It also houses art work of international and local artists. I absolutely love how this gallery was assembled. Its art is very contemporary. When I dropped by today, it was their 7th Gallery Collection Show: Do You See What I See?. They featured the works from Takashi Murakami (Japan), Naoko Tosa (Japan), Anne Morgan Spalter (USA), Youki Hirakawa (Japan), Patrick Wilson (USA), Miya Ando (USA) and Willy Rojas (Colombia). Each of the art works shown there varied in medium and form. There were aluminum canvases, LED and film, photography and paintings. There's something to showcase for your visual stimulation. Actually, the show wasn't just visuals! Audio played a part in some of the work shown there. Another quirk that I like about Nova is that they have the 60-in-1 Classic Arcade Games on the upper gallery. Games are art, too! And the addition of it there may be temporary. I didn't get to ask but I enjoyed playing Pac-Man! It brought a lot of nostalgic feels. I think I stayed quite a time there and realised that I was almost late for my yoga class. I look forward to seeing more art work from Nova Gallery. I was really impressed with how this seventh show was curated.

I've only been to two shows here, and both were fantastic enough for me to say that this place is…read moreone of my favorite galleries here in the metro. I love the whole layout and interiors of this gallery. The interiors are like that of a stylish loft--high ceilings, minimalist, white, and beautiful glass windows. And I love galleries that allow you to move freely. Even if you have group shows here, you don't feel overwhelmed by all these different things to see as their space has some partitions that allow the pieces to have room to breathe. During the times that I've gone both were group shows (and very well curated ones, too). If you're a fan of contemporary art, this is one of the places I will highly recommend that you go to. It's a bit far off if you're used to going to exhibits around Makati, but I still think it's a great location as it's in Katipunan, an area that generally offers a lot of possible things to do after the exhibit as well (Hint: Route 196 is close by if you want to catch a gig after).

If it wasn't for the guard at Warehouse 2, I wouldn't even know about Archivo 1984. It's like the…read moreshy sister or brother of Vinyl on Vinyl. They share the same warehouse space along Chino Roces Avenue but it's at the end of the warehouse. It has a white sliding door as your entrance which I don't think you'd take as a sliding door at first. I thought it was a door that would slide up! Going up to Archivo 1984 is one of a protagonist's stop to unveil a mystery in a movie (or a book). It's very steep and you'd be excited and curious to know what's upstairs as your second impression of the gallery. Once I saw what the first level gallery looked like, I was wowed! Elodie Brunet's textile pieces were showcased at the gallery until 6th of June. They were perched up the ceiling and when the wind blows, it looked so pretty. They circled the first level of the gallery and it felt like being in a movie! There are three rooms at Archivo 1984, the main gallery, the upstairs gallery and an anteroom. Mylene, the curator, told me that they house mostly Filipino artists. The owner loves to showcase Filipino artwork and join art fairs as well. They even have a Manansala art work on hand! The feel of the place is very homely. It's very relaxing and the lighting was perfect. I stayed for a while and talked to Mylene about the gallery. The upper gallery also has the younger artists creations on display. They cater to a mix of art made by Filipinos for Filipinos (and international community).

I just recently discovered the Gateway Gallery the other day and it was such a great surprise that…read moreI did! On the 5th floor of the new wing of Gateway Mall is a topiary garden and a huge gallery, I'm here so often I didn't know it existed! The gallery is now home to "Sining Saysay," a great exhibit of mural sized paintings about the Heritage of the Filipino People. Created by some very talented artists from UP Fine Arts, not just the size but the craftsmanship in each artwork will leave you in awe! A favorite of mine was the first one on the left, a creative expression of how our first ancestors documented daily life and stories. I also fell in love with the third one, I was so amazed how I felt so much movement in a still painting! The gallery is free, so there's no excuse not to come by! Also, May is Heritage Month, take the time to get a little cultured!

Such a cool gallery! I normally just pass through Gateway mall when needing to transfer from the…read moreLRT to the MRT and never knew about this place until a friend mentioned it. Their current exhibit "Sining Saysay" is super engaging, with thoughtful and informative captions to accompany these huge murals that depict the history of the Philippines. I love that entrance is free and open to the public, it's a great space to be able to reflect and enjoy some amazing art. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for for their next exhibit!

Antique galore! Jewelry , Furniture, Objects Art they have it all. And they also do restorations…read more With friendly terms and prices.