Tops ArtFest 2026 invites participants to painting competition

Apart from showcasing artists’ works, Tops ArtFest 2026 in Cebu will also feature a plein-air painting competition as part of its activities, organizers said.

Dubbed “Perspective Play,” the competition aims to challenge participants “to explore the relationship between observation, imagination, and interpretation, transforming the familiar landscape of TOPS into individual expressions of creativity,” organizers said in a press statement.

Open to students and professional artists, the competition will take place at The Circle, TOPS, on October 23.

The competition is part of the larger Tops ArtFest 2026, which will run from October 22 to 25 in Cebu City.

Plein-air painting is the practice of painting outdoors by directly observing the surrounding environment.

Registration for the competition will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on October 23, with participants allowed to continue painting onsite until the following morning, subject to competition guidelines.

Completed artworks must be submitted at Hostel Honeycomb during the designated submission periods on October 23 and 24.

Student and professional artists will compete in separate categories, each with its own requirements for painting mediums.

Students “may work in oil or acrylic on canvas, watercolor, or pastel,” while professional participants are limited to oil or acrylic on canvas.

All entries must be original works created onsite during the competition period, with “purely abstract, non-figurative works, digital prints, mixed media, and other specified non-accepted formats” deemed ineligible, organizers said.

Under the student category, the first-prize winner will receive P20,000, followed by P15,000 for second place and P10,000 for third place. Three Merit Awards of P5,000 each will also be presented.

In the professional category, the first-prize winner will take home P50,000, followed by P40,000 for second place and P30,000 for third place. Three Merit Awards of P15,000 each will also be awarded.

Winning artworks will be exhibited during the Tops ArtFest 2026 Awards Night on October 25.

Around 300 artists are expected to participate in the art festival, with installation art icon Junyee and painter Nune Alvarado serving as the event’s featured artists.