Various countries around the world have long been making conscious efforts to foster sustainable practices in their craft. This includes artists and brands who are vocal and are constantly encouraging people to somehow reduce the waste they produce through tiny, yet noticeable efforts.
In Alcantara’s (2022) article entitled Young and Inspiring: 5 Pinoy creatives using art to promote love for the environment, it was said that Filipino Gen Z Artists ranked environmental concerns as their top passion for being the subject of their craft, in comparison to other artists in the same generation across Southeast Asia. This advocacy is not solely practiced by Gen Z’s alone, as companies and brig brands in the Philippines have also shown great interest in giving the spotlight to sustainable practices and artists who have the same vision in their craft over the past years. Just last August 8, 2024, a known health care and beauty care chain store—Watson’s Philippines—held its second sustainability art competition with the theme “Reimagine, Recycle for a Better Future,” where a total of 31 artists participated and featured their works using sustainable materials (Lifestyle by Philstar). This goes to show that sustainability in the art scene has been making waves across the community of artists, and having the participation of these brands makes it more known to the public.
While it is definitely important for known brands or artists to promote sustainability as they will have more audience or scope, it is also equally important for the local government to show an interest in cultivating a community that gives importance to having sustainable practices through various programs. An example of this is one of Negros Occidental’s Sipalay City Local Government Unit (LGU) holding an eco-art competition last March 17, 2025. According to the city’s official website, “the Emagina Arts Fest 2025 Competition features three categories: the Eco Lamp Design Competition, the Eco Art Figure Competition, and the Eco Tote Bag Design Competition.” The competition aims to promote, nurture, and showcase the artistic talents of the people of Sipalay through sustainability and the Emagina Arts Program. Similarly, a larger-scale competition commenced by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) encouraged artists across the Philippines to participate in creating a mural with the theme “Blossoming Futures: A Celebration of New Clark City’s Innovation and Rich Biodiversity.” According to Damoreno (2025), the competition’s organizers said that the goal of the mural is to showcase the unity of the people and nature, as well as to raise awareness regarding environmental conservation.
Local galleries in the Philippines have also been making efforts to provide a spotlight to various sustainable artists’ works. In 2021, Conrad Manila’s recurring event called “Of Art and Wine” featured a series of works from sustainability artist Gilbert Angeles. In his exhibit, “New Earth, New Life, New Hope,” Mr. Angeles showcased the use of single-use plastic sachet to promote a circular economy—that even things or waste that is considered the biggest pollutant can be repurposed to create art. Another recent event where sustainability became the main attraction was Makati’s Elemento: Art, Light, + Flow that was held last December 2, 2023. One of the artists who exhibited their pieces was Leeroy New with his work entitled Elemental and Nautilus of Dreams. His work entirely consisted of recycled and plastic materials such as plastic bottles, containers, solar-powered lights, and the like. With the growing trend in sustainability, it is not a far reach for sustainable art and artists to break into local galleries and exhibitions. In time, it will definitely boost more encouragement for artists and people to see the value of sustainable art and lessen the harmful effects of art materials in the environment.