Davao City, Philippines – In celebration of the Museums & Galleries Month, the 7th Mindanao Art kicked off on September 21, 2025 at the SM Lanang Atrium, featuring 30 galleries from Mindanao including three participating galleries from Visayas and Luzon.
The event, which will run until October 1, 2025, is organized by the Lawig-Diwa Inc. in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Committee on Art Galleries (NCCA-NCAG).
With the continued support of NCCA-NCAG and SM Lanang, this event does not only highlight artistic innovation but also provides learning opportunities for local gallery owners, artists, and students.
renowned Mindanaoan Artist Kublai Millan; National Committee on Libraries and Information Services Member Ms. Nora Fe Alajar; and Mindanao State University – IIT Cultural and Arts Studies Program Founder Steven P.C. Fernandez, DFA during the opening of the 7th Mindanao Art at the SM Lanang Atrium on September 21, 2025.
Themed “Leaping Beyond”, this year’s Mindanao Art invites artists to launch themselves into the universe and break their own skies, defying both their known personal limits and the downward pull of world and nation. This cultural launching is visually represented by the contemporary image of rockets, morphed with the respective tools of each artistic trade that are now envisioned as catalysts for collective cultural transcendence.
Renowned artist Kublai Millan, President of Lawig Diwa Inc. and Chairman of the Mindanao Art Organizing Committee, said that “in the hands of a Mindanawon grounded in culture, these tools become instruments of transformation, fueled by the island’s boundless intent and imagination.”
“In an age threatened by a culture of mediocrity, we are called to rise and lift humanity higher,” Millan added. Mindanao Art took flight in 2019 through the initiative of Lawig-Diwa Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the rich cultural heritage and artistic excellence of Mindanao, in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Committee on Art Galleries (NCCA-NCAG). Since then, it has established itself as the most prominent art exhibition in the region.
