Silahis is the best store I've found to buy souvenirs and handicrafts from all regions of the…read morePhilippines. It's set in a spacious old-Spanish-style house with 4 floors, so you can stay there during a whole day and you won't be able to see everything! Just amazing! There you can find solid wood furniture, colorful textiles, typical baskets, ceramics, collections of antiques...and of course the beautiful jewelry! Prepare yourself to get crazy with the mother of pearl items. They are my favourite ones and really represent the Philippines! In my opinion, a mother of pearl necklace or earring is a very nice gift :) Actually, all the items there at Silahis are great gift options. It's just hard to choose! What I like about this place is that it's organized in a way that customers can know exactly the origin of the products. There's always a tag explaining, for example, that the traditional textile you loved is from Zamboanga. I like this kind of information. It's nice to see how diverse the country is! if you need an interesting souvenir that really represents the Philippines, I wouldn't think twice. Silahis is THE place. Just make yourself sure you have plenty of time to spend there. You won't regret it.

This store is a jewel to me not because of the antiques, Philippine souvenirs, and the likes. To be…read morehonest, the prices of these are kinda steep knowing that you could get them at a cheaper cost at some nearby stores. What makes me go back here every time I get the chance to pass by Intramuros is their collection of vintage, and old books at the 2nd floor. Being a book lover and a researcher of anything that speaks of the glory past of the Philippines, the book collection in Silahis is a haven for me. Some books can go as low as P100 for three different titles. Some are rare-to-find books and though the price is rather steep, you would actually spend for it knowing the rarity of the book. When I Go here, I usually spend an hour or two here in this book store. You can actually open books, browse through it, decide if you're gonna buy or not. One thing you should have is PATIENCE. The books are rather stacked differently. The store usually arranges the books according to the author and/or by topic of interest. But don't fret, this hidden gem is really hidden. There's not much people that spend time here. So, I have unraveled one of my Manila's top secrets here. For book lovers, go here na.

1335Mabini is a shot in the arm for a portion of Manila that needs a bit of art and culture in its…read moreeveryday cycle. 1335Mabini is a multidisciplinary space for contemporary art, with over 700 square meters devoted to art, art, and more art. This gallery supports artistic creation through exhibitions, workshops, lectures and their own artist-in-residence program. The Gallery is situated in the old Casa Tesoro, a name more synonymous with Filipino souvenirs and stuff. At any given time, 1335Mabini will be exhibiting contemporary art exhibits bordering on "Far Out" and "WTF" (Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about), as well as a performance piece or two. I remember watching a female artist do "macho man" dance moves during a performance two years back. You know, gay bar stuff, but by a woman. It was weirdly unnerving, but then that was the point of the whole thing, right? Manila is not lacking for art galleries and art shops, but they're very cookie-cutter and safe with their exhibitions and whatnot. If you want your art to push the bounderies, you have to check out 1335Mabini. You will not be disappointed.

Ysobel Art Gallery is among the cluster of art galleries found on the second floor of Serendra…read more They're home to contemporary art from masters and emerging artists from the local art scene. It is a very small gallery and you can view all the pieces in one go. You could just stay in the middle of the gallery and you'll see everything. Currently on exhibit is Ronante Maratas' first solo show entitled Fragile Bones. The show had its run until today, June 1st. Depending on where you go up the escalator at Serendra, don't miss out this gallery. It may be small but it packs a lot of content. They really love colorful contemporary art! And they do shows, too, and join art fairs.

Nova Gallery is in the same compound as Finale Art File. You could hit two birds with one stone…read morewith a visit at La Fuerza Compound in Chino Roces. Unlike Finale Art File, Nova Gallery is smaller than its neighbour. It's very minimalist with its white walls and wood work at the upstairs gallery. It also houses art work of international and local artists. I absolutely love how this gallery was assembled. Its art is very contemporary. When I dropped by today, it was their 7th Gallery Collection Show: Do You See What I See?. They featured the works from Takashi Murakami (Japan), Naoko Tosa (Japan), Anne Morgan Spalter (USA), Youki Hirakawa (Japan), Patrick Wilson (USA), Miya Ando (USA) and Willy Rojas (Colombia). Each of the art works shown there varied in medium and form. There were aluminum canvases, LED and film, photography and paintings. There's something to showcase for your visual stimulation. Actually, the show wasn't just visuals! Audio played a part in some of the work shown there. Another quirk that I like about Nova is that they have the 60-in-1 Classic Arcade Games on the upper gallery. Games are art, too! And the addition of it there may be temporary. I didn't get to ask but I enjoyed playing Pac-Man! It brought a lot of nostalgic feels. I think I stayed quite a time there and realised that I was almost late for my yoga class. I look forward to seeing more art work from Nova Gallery. I was really impressed with how this seventh show was curated.

I've only been to two shows here, and both were fantastic enough for me to say that this place is…read moreone of my favorite galleries here in the metro. I love the whole layout and interiors of this gallery. The interiors are like that of a stylish loft--high ceilings, minimalist, white, and beautiful glass windows. And I love galleries that allow you to move freely. Even if you have group shows here, you don't feel overwhelmed by all these different things to see as their space has some partitions that allow the pieces to have room to breathe. During the times that I've gone both were group shows (and very well curated ones, too). If you're a fan of contemporary art, this is one of the places I will highly recommend that you go to. It's a bit far off if you're used to going to exhibits around Makati, but I still think it's a great location as it's in Katipunan, an area that generally offers a lot of possible things to do after the exhibit as well (Hint: Route 196 is close by if you want to catch a gig after).

If it wasn't for the guard at Warehouse 2, I wouldn't even know about Archivo 1984. It's like the…read moreshy sister or brother of Vinyl on Vinyl. They share the same warehouse space along Chino Roces Avenue but it's at the end of the warehouse. It has a white sliding door as your entrance which I don't think you'd take as a sliding door at first. I thought it was a door that would slide up! Going up to Archivo 1984 is one of a protagonist's stop to unveil a mystery in a movie (or a book). It's very steep and you'd be excited and curious to know what's upstairs as your second impression of the gallery. Once I saw what the first level gallery looked like, I was wowed! Elodie Brunet's textile pieces were showcased at the gallery until 6th of June. They were perched up the ceiling and when the wind blows, it looked so pretty. They circled the first level of the gallery and it felt like being in a movie! There are three rooms at Archivo 1984, the main gallery, the upstairs gallery and an anteroom. Mylene, the curator, told me that they house mostly Filipino artists. The owner loves to showcase Filipino artwork and join art fairs as well. They even have a Manansala art work on hand! The feel of the place is very homely. It's very relaxing and the lighting was perfect. I stayed for a while and talked to Mylene about the gallery. The upper gallery also has the younger artists creations on display. They cater to a mix of art made by Filipinos for Filipinos (and international community).

I just recently discovered the Gateway Gallery the other day and it was such a great surprise that…read moreI did! On the 5th floor of the new wing of Gateway Mall is a topiary garden and a huge gallery, I'm here so often I didn't know it existed! The gallery is now home to "Sining Saysay," a great exhibit of mural sized paintings about the Heritage of the Filipino People. Created by some very talented artists from UP Fine Arts, not just the size but the craftsmanship in each artwork will leave you in awe! A favorite of mine was the first one on the left, a creative expression of how our first ancestors documented daily life and stories. I also fell in love with the third one, I was so amazed how I felt so much movement in a still painting! The gallery is free, so there's no excuse not to come by! Also, May is Heritage Month, take the time to get a little cultured!

Such a cool gallery! I normally just pass through Gateway mall when needing to transfer from the…read moreLRT to the MRT and never knew about this place until a friend mentioned it. Their current exhibit "Sining Saysay" is super engaging, with thoughtful and informative captions to accompany these huge murals that depict the history of the Philippines. I love that entrance is free and open to the public, it's a great space to be able to reflect and enjoy some amazing art. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for for their next exhibit!