Ayala Malls Transforms Into Queer Art Haven for Komiket Pride
Darlings, clear your cultural calendars and polish your rainbow pins, the Filipino queer art scene just staged a takeover to remember! From June 6 to 8, the usually sleek corridors of Ayala Malls The 30th are serving as a kaleidoscopic sanctuary for Komiket Pride 2025, a dazzling festival where active self-expression meets the pulse of the Filipino LGBT+ creative spirit. Forget your typical weekend malling, this is a full-on queer art renaissance, right in plain sight.
Spotlight on Queer Filipino Creators
This year’s Komiket Pride is more than just a marketplace, it’s a powerful platform for Filipino queer comic artists, illustrators, and storytellers to take center stage, sharing tales of love, identity, and resilience with a community hungry for representative stories. The event’s first day alone, captured in a energetic rush of sketches, zines, and glittered merch, was lovingly documented by fans and artists flooding social media feeds HERE. The atmosphere? Electric. The art? Fierce, funny, and sometimes fearlessly raw, think sticker packs celebrating bakla beauty, comics about coming out, and gorgeous prints reimagining Filipino mythology through a queer lens.
More Than a Market: A Movement
Komiket Pride isn’t just about sales, it’s a declaration. Each vendor booth is a proof to the power of lived queer experience, as attendees mingled with creators not just to shop, but to connect, to swap stories, and yes, take a few selfies in front of murals that radiate Pride energy from every pixel. Organizers made it clear: the aim is to encourage community and visibility for LGBT+ creators, making the event a beacon for queer youth, seasoned artists, and supportive allies alike. As ABS-CBN Lifestyle highlights, the event is intentionally curated to amplify queer Filipino voices, especially those still carving out space in our creative industries.
From Zines to Connection: Artie’s Picks
You know I had to scout the must-grab pieces! Standouts include a heart-tugging zine about chosen family, enamel pins flaunting trans pride, and a poster that boldly reimagines the diwata as a nonbinary icon. For three magical days, the mall becomes an IRL safe space, where every booth, every komik, every sticker is a gentle rebellion against silence. And the queer community? We showed up in force, strutting, laughing, and owning the space, proving (once again) that Filipino LGBT+ art isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving, shimmering, and slaying, right in the heart of Ortigas SEE FOR YOURSELF.
“Queer art is about making yourself visible. Komiket Pride lets us take up space, tell our stories, and find each other,” shared one smiling artist between sketches.
Looking Ahead: The Future Is Fab
With Komiket Pride 2025 lighting up Ayala Malls The 30th this Pride Month, it’s clear: the Filipino queer creative community is louder, prouder, and more imaginative than ever. If you missed day one, don’t fret, the celebration continues through June 8, promising more stories, more art, and more joyful resistance HERE. Queer Pinoy art is here to stay, and it’s making the mall the hottest gallery in town. See you at the next booth, beshies!
