MANILA BULLETIN SKETCHFEST 2026 MECHANICS
The SKETCHFEST 2026 is a sketching and art competition by MANILA BULLETIN, with this year’s theme, “Portrait of Juan and Maria.” The competition features two categories: Exhibition and On-the-Spot. The On-the-Spot category is further divided into three subcategories: Kiddie, Junior, and Senior. Participants may join only one category and may win only once. The promo period runs from July 1, 2026 to October 25, 2026.
On-The-Spot Category
- Online Registration: July 1-Oct 25, 2026
- Event Date/ On-Site Registration: Oct 25, 2026
- Time: 7-10 am
- Venue: Music Hall, SM Mall of Asia
Exhibition Category:
- Online Registration & Submission: Aug 3- Sept 26, 2026
- Time: 9 am to 4 pm (Mondays to Fridays, except on Holidays)
- Venue: Manila Bulletin Office, Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila
I. PRE-EVENT REGISTRATION
A. ONLINE REGISTRATION (Exhibition and On-the-Spot)
- Participants may pre-register online. Visit mb.confetti.events/mbsketchfest2026 and select your preferred category.
- All required fields must be completed; incomplete submissions will not be accepted.
- Participants must download and print the waiver and registration forms and submit them, along with one (1) valid ID bearing their birthdate (government-issued, school, or company ID), on the day of participation or artwork submission.
II. CATEGORIES:
ON-THE-SPOT
KIDDIE (Children 12 years old and below)
JUNIOR (13 to 18 years old)
SENIOR (19 years old and above)
EXHIBITION CATEGORY (16 years old and above)
III. CRITERIA
Adherence – relevance to the theme 40%
Creativity – artistic design 35%
Originality – unique and fresh idea 25%
IV. PRIZES
ON-THE-SPOT CATEGORY
SENIOR:
1st place ₱ 30,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
2nd place ₱ 20,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
3rd place ₱ 10,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
JUNIOR:
1st place ₱ 15,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
2nd place ₱ 10,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
3rd place ₱ 5,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
KIDDIE:
1st place ₱ 5,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
2nd place ₱ 3,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
3rd place ₱ 2,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
EXHIBITION CATEGORY:
1st place ₱ 30,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
2nd place ₱ 20,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
3rd place ₱ 10,000 worth of cash and/or SM gift certificates
V. CONTEST PROPER
A. ON-THE-SPOT CATEGORY: (Walk-In participants)
a. On-site Registration
- Participants may also register on the day of the event from 7:00 am to 10:00 am.
- On-site registrants must complete the official waiver and registration forms and present one valid ID showing their birth date (gov’t, school, or company ID) upon registration.
b. The Manila Bulletin will provide the official sketching paper (12x18 inches) for all categories upon registration.
c. All participants should bring their own sketching and drawing tools for dry media only. Painting is not allowed.
d. Participants will be given five (5) hours, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, to do their artworks based on their interpretation of the theme “Portrait of Juan and Maria.”
e. Participants must work on their drawings only within the designated event area.
f. Only entries drawn/sketched during the contest day shall be considered valid entries.
g. Judging period will be at 3:30 pm with the presence of a DTI representative.
h. Announcement of winners and awarding of prizes will follow immediately.
B. EXHIBITION CATEGORY
a. This category is open to any medium. Entries should be 18” x 24” in size.
b. All entries must be in PORTRAIT format, wall-bound, and ready to hang.
c. For verification, artists must submit a photo of their artwork printed or pasted on short bond paper and include the artist and artwork details.
d. Artworks should be original based on their interpretation of the theme “Portrait of Juan and Maria.”
e. Artists are encouraged to use sustainable, earth-friendly, recycled materials.
f. Submit your artwork together with the print-out of the waiver and registration forms at the Manila Bulletin main office at Muralla cor. Recoletos Sts., Intramuros, Manila.
g. Submission of entries is on or before September 26, 2026 (Monday – Friday, 9 am to 4 pm) except on holidays.
h. In case of framed artwork, frame borders must not be more than 2 inches, and weight must not be more than 2.5 kilos.
i. All incidental expenses related to the submission and retrieval of artworks, as well as the claiming of prizes, shall be borne by the participants.
VI. DISQUALIFICATION:
For All Categories, an entry will be disqualified in case of the following:
a. All late artworks.
b. Not following the given requirements, including age, size, and weight.
c. Works that are obscene or may discriminate against any group, culture, beliefs, and the integrity of others, are fragile and brittle.
d. Works using any dangerous, illegal/prohibitive, hazardous materials and substances.
e. Unfinished works, including wet works or those with incomplete documentation.
f. Works that are copied from other artists will be treated as plagiarized artwork and will be automatically disqualified.
h. Use of copied stock images/drawings, including images generated via Artificial Intelligence (AI), is strictly prohibited.
j. Employees of the Manila Bulletin, including their relatives up to the 3rd degree of consanguinity or affinity, are not eligible to join the contest.
VII. PRE-JUDGING:
(Exhibition Category)
a. Validating of qualified entries will be done by Manila Bulletin’s representatives and judges.
b. Pre-judging of qualified and validated entries, and the determination of finalists, will take place on October 2, 2026 (Friday), at 2:00 PM at the Manila Bulletin Head Office, in the presence of a DTI representative.
c. There will be Top 20 semi-finalists in the Exhibition Category. Announcement of semi-finalists will be on October 9, 2026 (Friday) through Manila Bulletin Social Media Pages.
d. In case of tie: a) judges will re-score the two artworks. The one who gets the higher score gets the spot/wins; or b) judges may vote, and the artwork with more votes wins the spot.
e. All Exhibition Category semi-finalists are no longer allowed to join the on-the-spot contest on October 25, 2026 (Sunday).
f. All semi-finalists’ artworks will be exhibited during the on-the-spot contest.
g. All semi-finalists are encouraged to be present on October 25, 2026
VIII. JUDGING: ON-THE-SPOT
(Same day judging, determination, verification of winners)
a. All entries have the right to be judged. Artworks will be laid out for evaluation, and judges will select their preferred pieces.
b. Each judge will select ten (10) artworks for the preliminary round, thirty (30) artworks for the second round, and downsize to 10 artworks for the final round.
c. The selected ten (10) artworks for the final round will be scored based on the following criteria: Adherence to Theme – 40%, Creativity – 35%, Originality – 25%
d. The artworks with the highest total scores will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category.
e. The determination and verification of winners must be conducted in the presence of a DTI representative
f. In the event of a tie: (a) Judges will re-score the tied artworks; the artwork with the higher score will win the spot, or (b) Judges may vote; the artwork receiving the majority of votes will be declared the winner.
IX. ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES:
a. All entries will be judged with the presence of a DTI representative.
b. All winners will be notified through registered mail, email, and via text messages, except those who have already claimed their prizes on the day of the event.
d. A 20% tax on prizes exceeding ₱10,000 shall be shouldered by the winners.
e. To claim prizes, winners must bring the original copy of their two (2) valid ID’s with birthdate (gov’t, school, or company ID) together with the RED (Artist Copy) Form and a photo with their artwork during the awarding ceremony.
f. All semi-finalists of the Exhibition Category will be announced via Manila Bulletin’s official Facebook page, email, text message, and registered mail.
g. All prizes must be claimed within 60 days upon receipt of notification; otherwise, unclaimed prizes will be forfeited with prior approval of DTI.
h. All winning artworks will automatically become the property of the Manila Bulletin, and the ownership, copyright, and the intellectual property rights pertaining to the winning artwork shall be deemed automatically assigned to the Manila Bulletin without any payment or reimbursement for the value thereof.
X. RETRIEVAL OF ENTRIES:
(For Exhibition Category Only)
a. All non-winning artworks of the Exhibition Category must be retrieved from the Manila Bulletin’s main office between November 1 and December 31, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays), on a pre-scheduled basis.
b. The artist must present their RED (Artist Copy) Form and valid identification cards to the authorized Manila Bulletin personnel to claim his/her entry. NO RED FORMS, NO RELEASE OF ARTWORK.
c. Entries not collected on designated dates shall automatically become the property of the Manila Bulletin, including the copyright and all intellectual property rights thereof.
For inquiries, you may call +63(2)85278121 loc. 308 or email at
sketchfest.manilabulletin@gmail.com.
DTI FairTrade Permit No. FTEB-261347 Series of 2026
