MANILA, Philippines — Unfinished ideas, ambitious prototypes, and concepts once kept in notebooks and hard drives are set to take center stage as De La Salle-College of St. Benilde introduced the finalists of the second edition of Benilde Open Design + Art, its grant initiative that supports Filipino creatives in developing, producing, and presenting untried and experimental projects at the intersection of art, design, technology, and sustainability.
Designed as a platform for all creatives such as artists, architects, designers, and filmmakers to move bold concepts from proposal to public presentation, the program provides production funding of up to Php300,000 per selected project, alongside curatorial guidance and an exhibition platform.
From hundreds of proposals submitted locally and internationally, only a small group was selected for the opportunity to develop their ideas at full scale. The resulting works span disciplines including video, installation, textile, industrial design, and jewelry, among others, reflecting how contemporary practice moves fluidly between the handmade and the high-tech, the poetic, and the practical.
The 10 Benilde Open grantees, each receiving a P300,000 production grant, are: Andi Osmeña; Bianca Carague; Karl Castro; Kiri Dalena and Ben Brix; Krishner Appay; Mac Andre Arboleda; Mikael Joaquin; Nicole Racal; Niño Tayao; and Studio Unosinotra.
Running alongside Benilde Open is Best of Benilde, a category dedicated to Benilde students that supports the realization of student-led projects with both funding and full curatorial assistance. The Best of Benilde grantees are Patty Malijan and Pen Vinzon, each receiving a P50,000 grant.
The Best of Benilde spotlights how student work can extend beyond the classroom by elevating early-stage ideas into publicly experienced projects and giving emerging creatives a platform to test their thinking in the real world.
Extension of Nature
All finalists worked under the 2025 theme, “Extension of Nature,” which challenges creatives to imagine a future where art and technology work in harmony with the environment, not against it. The theme draws from the evolving history of kinetic and responsive art, pointing to a lineage of works that not only move, but also respond, interact, and adapt whether through wind, light, sensors, reclaimed systems, or hybrid materials.
Rather than treating nature as something to conquer, “Extension of Nature” asks participants to design with nature as collaborator: to build poetic machines, invent hybrid ecosystems, and craft material narratives that can shift how people think about energy, motion, and interdependence.
In this spirit, Benilde Open Design + Art becomes a call for experiments for projects that blur boundaries between the organic and engineered, the useful and expressive, and the speculative and real.
Finalists for the second edition were reviewed by an international panel of judges composed of Jihoi Lee (Curator, MMCA Korea; founder of Watch & Chill), Mireia Luzárraga (Co-founder, TAKK; Assistant Professor, Columbia GSAPP), Nathalie Huni (Managing Director, Head of Design, Wells Fargo), Timothy Moore (Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture and Melbourne Design Week, NGV; founder of Sibling Architecture; Senior Lecturer, Monash University), and Freddy Anzures (Filipino-American designer from the original iPhone team and holder of numerous iPhone-related patents).
Benilde Open Design + Art and Best of Benilde are convened in synergy with De La Salle University by Ayi Magpayo, Rita Nazareno, Gabby Lichauco, Joselina Cruz, and Dindin Araneta, with the support of Br. Dodo Fernandez FSC, Benilde President. Together, the initiative is envisioned as a platform that nurtures collaboration, invention, and bold thinking supporting creatives whose work challenges conventions and resists the status quo.
As the College of St. Benilde celebrates its 37th founding year, it continues to champion innovation and inclusion through programs that prepare learners for leadership in creative, digital, and service industries, supported by industry-linked education, state-of-the-art facilities, and global connections.
Visit Benilde Open Design + Art and Best of Benilde
The exhibition opens on April 11 and will run until April 27, 2026 at several spaces in De La Salle College of Saint Benilde – School of Design + Arts (SDA) Campus.
For more information and schedule of activities, you may visit www.benilde.edu.ph/benilde-open/ or social media @benildeopen.
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