Plein-air painting competition “PERSPECTIVE PLAY” offers up to ₱50,000 in cash prizes
CEBU, Philippines – What happens when artists are invited to look at the same place but see it differently?
That question lies at the heart of PERSPECTIVE PLAY, the Plein-Air Painting Competition of Tops ArtFest 2026, which opens its call to student and professional artists this October. Set against the landscape of TOPS, the competition challenges participants to explore how observation, imagination, and personal interpretation can transform a familiar scene into something uniquely their own.
Rather than working within the confines of a studio, participating artists will create their entries onsite, drawing inspiration from their immediate surroundings. The competition welcomes artistic approaches ranging from realism to figurative abstraction, encouraging artists to interpret the landscape while retaining identifiable representational elements.
The competition will be held on October 23, 2026, at The Circle, TOPS, with registration scheduled from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Participants may continue working onsite until the following morning, in accordance with the competition guidelines. Artwork submission will take place at Hostel Honeycomb on October 23, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and on October 24, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
TWO CATEGORIES, ONE INVITATION TO CREATE
Open to both student and professional artists, PERSPECTIVE PLAY provides separate competition categories with substantial cash prizes.
The Student Category awards ₱20,000 to the first-prize winner, ₱15,000 for second place, and ₱10,000 for third place. Three Merit Awards worth ₱5,000 each will also be presented.
In the Professional Category, the first-prize winner will receive ₱50,000, the second-prize winner ₱40,000, and the third-prize winner ₱30,000. Three Merit Awards worth ₱15,000 each will complete the category’s awards.
Prize recipients will receive certificates, and winners will also receive gift certificates from Art Caravan. Winning entries will be exhibited during the Tops ArtFest 2026 Awards Night on October 25.
Participants must observe the prescribed artwork dimensions of 432 to 450 square inches, regardless of shape. Student artists must present a valid student ID and may work in oil or acrylic on canvas, watercolor, or pastel. Professional artists may use oil or acrylic on canvas. Entries must be original works produced onsite during the competition period, and only one entry per participant is allowed. Group works, purely abstract non-figurative pieces, and specified non-accepted media and formats are prohibited.
WHERE PLACE MEETS PERSPECTIVE
Tops ArtFest 2026 carries the theme Building and Breaking Norms, bringing together artistic practices and experiences that challenge conventions and encourage new ways of seeing.
Presented by the Cristina Lee Dino Foundation Inc. and the Sacred Heart School for Boys Batch ’85 Foundation, the festival provides a platform for creative expression and engagement with the arts. Through PERSPECTIVE PLAY, artists are invited to become active interpreters of their environment, finding new possibilities in the lines, forms, colors, and stories of a shared landscape.
The competition also invites audiences to consider how art can shift the way we perceive the familiar. One view may reveal a landscape; another may uncover a memory, an emotion, or an entirely different story.
Artwork claiming is scheduled for October 25, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and October 26, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Late submissions will not be accepted. Participants are encouraged to consult the official Tops ArtFest 2026 announcements for the complete competition guidelines and requirements.
Tops ArtFest 2026 runs from October 22 to 25 at TOPS, Cebu in partnership with Junyee, Nune Alvarado, TOPS, Montebello Hotel Cebu, Hostel Honeycomb, 2TinCans Philippines, and media partners Tops Media Center (TMC 105.1 FM) and Art+ Magazine.
For artists, PERSPECTIVE PLAY is an invitation to bring their materials, step into the landscape, and make something only they can make. For audiences, it is an opportunity to discover just how many stories one place can hold.
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