Ten Filipino illustrators and visual artists from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao presented new visions of democracy through Sprints, a 48-hour creative challenge and bootcamp held in the community space of Alon and Araw from August 21 to 23, 2026.
Photo: Ralph Eya
Organized by DAKILA – Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism, in collaboration with global creative studio Fine Acts and the One World or None initiative, the Philippine edition of Sprints brought together Cyrill Acuña, Jill Arteche, Alyssa Babasa, Maki Cabrera, Anjella Cruz, Ed Empemano, Ish Flores, Kieltokki, Kirsten Mago, and Ruer Torculas to explore this year’s global theme: “Reimagining Democracy.”
Rather than depicting democracy through familiar symbols and institutions, the artists were challenged to imagine new ways for people to participate, deliberate, decide, and shape the societies they live in.
Photo: Ralph Eya
The works are currently being exhibited simultaneously across three creative spaces in celebration of the International Day of Democracy:
- Luzon: Commune, Metro Manila
- Visayas: Arts and Design Collective, Dumaguete
- Mindanao: La Herencia, Davao
The exhibit, which ran throughout September, features the 10 artists’ works, five collaborative pieces created during the bootcamp, and additional works from homegrown and guest artists, including Red Genotiva, Noi Narciso, Jonas Tugab, Cleo Manansala, and Airish Tayag.
“Together, these exhibitions form a kind of creative flag planted across the archipelago: a declaration from Filipino artists that democracy is not a finished picture. It is something we can question, redraw, and build again,” said Elvin Macanlalay, creative director of Dakila.
Photo: Ralph Eya
The exhibitions themselves also seek to reimagine how art can engage the public.
“The outdoors, the banner material, and the overall exhibit design are also intended as a way to reimagine democracy—particularly with the idea of art having more open access to the public, in contrast to traditional white-walled spaces which can unintentionally be exclusive,” Macanlalay added.
For Ralph Eya, artist-organizer and Sprints Coordinator in the Philippines, bringing the global creative format into local and community spaces makes democracy more tangible.
Photo: Elviin Jay
“By bringing this kind of art activation format to our country and intentionally contextualizing it on a local and community level, we have created a more grounded space to work on something genuinely close to most people’s lived experiences,” Eya noted. “This comes during a critical period when our democracy should be felt, not just remain as discussion points within the confines of high-profile symposiums, international convenings, and the like. SPRINTS demonstrates that artists can truly reimagine systems, spark dialogue, and make complex ideas more accessible and engaging.”
Photo: Ralph Eya
All artworks created through Sprints are published under an open license on TheGreats.co, allowing activists, educators, nonprofits, journalists, and community organizations to freely use and adapt them for non-commercial purposes.
“Sprints ultimately asks artists to do what artists have always done: look at the world we have been given, then dare to picture another one. True to working with One World or None, as a statement in its own right, these pictures go live to the public across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao on September 15, 2026,” Eya concluded.
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