Hunting hipster street art in Bonifacio Global City, Manila!

When talking about street art, places like Georgetown in Penang or Singapore's very own Haji Lane comes into mind, but I have not heard of one in Manila. So one afternoon, we took a quick cab ride from Makati City to Bonifacio Global City. BGC is a financial and lifestyle district with neat streets, hotels, condominiums and malls.. far from the stereotypical Manila depicted in the media.

We actually told the driver to take us to the High Street, but after spotting some street art on the way, we stopped along 5th Avenue, just outside Thai BBQ and we started exploring. 

Far from the stereotypical Manila frequently depicted in news and films *coughs Bourne Legacy*

Afterwards, we crossed 28th Street to C1 building, hoping to see the Andres Bonifacio wall art.. which we kind of did?

A building was constructed right across the Andres Bonifacio mural which was disappointing but
at least they did not remove it! For those who don't know, he is a Philippine national hero who was one of
the founders of Katipunan, an originally secret society who played an integral role in the Philippine uprising
against the Spanish colonial powers... Though there are some controversies but hey, let me focus on the postives.

Bonifacio High Street from C1 building

We were now within Bonifacio High Street and spotted some wall art at the gardens.

   leading to the amphitheater.

This was followed by a stroll around, crossing 7th Avenue and 9th Avenue, stumbling upon the colourful murals at random wall spaces and carparks.

  

These were painted on November 2017, some of the newest additions to the vibrant street art scene.

Love that splash of colour! 

Crossing the roads of BGC. And a rarity for Manila, they do follow pedestrian stop lights.
Don't anyhow jaywalk hor!

This was an ad for Netflix when they just started in the country. Stranger Things reference anyone?

The next stop was not really a street graffiti but still an awesome art piece inside Fully Booked. Also, the air-conditioning was an added plus

  

Like dude isn't that AMAZING?!!

And with that, we took a u-turn at Lane P and discovered even more of these wonderful, pleasing to the eyes works of art!

'Pilandok' or a Philippine mouse deer

'Kapit Kamay'.. let us hold hands for a brighter tomorrow 

'Dating Tagpuan', another one of the latest November 2017 additions. 

Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil

One thing I loved was that BGC was littered with aesthetically pleasing photo backdrops, from parks and buildings with modern and sleek designs to even the street signs and bus stops.

Even the bus stops are popping with colours!

 

Even crossing the road looked photogenic here!

Cute bicycle parking

The street signs were literally calling for wacky photos!

There were also contrasting gray and dull spaces, which were also great back drops!
An ootd photoshoot by expensive looking cameras and equipment wielding chic
Filipino young adults was happening at the vicinity.

So we ended the street art hunt by the Mind Museum which had some pretty interesting artefacts on display in the public area. Can't wait to explore again for new exciting art additions in the future! It was a nice day out!

We almost missed this one!

Notes:

- I was told that it is normally hot and sunny in the day, so street art hunting is recommended in the afternoon. It was a cloudy afternoon that day, a very pleasant walk!

- Go get those instagram worthy photos before the area gets swarmed by mobs of camera wielding millenials! We found the street art installations to be mostly empty and with only a handful of photoshoots (yet!) and it was a Sunday afternoon!

- This list is by no means exhaustive! There are more instagram-worthy spots and murals and I have read of aesthetically pleasing cafes in the area so just go out and explore! The art scene is definitely growing so there might have been new pieces added! Also, most of these murals lack description so I highly recommend a short research on the meanings behind these paintings for better appreciation. 

- BGC is VERY PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY and there is an abundance of seats in restaurants and parks should you get tired. Food and drinks are everywhere so going without them is not a problem.