Ateneo Art Gallery

Be enthralled with the visual art masterpieces represented by the Ateneo Art Gallery, nestled in the brilliant innovation hub of Areté. Bequeathed by teacher, painter, and scholar Fernando Zobel to its alma mater, this museum started with only 200 artworks by key Filipino post-war artists for students to study and admire. Artists and philanthropists, following Zobel’s initiative, painted these rooms into reality and made the first museum of Philippine Modern Art. This led to the completion of every Philippine Art Movement from neo-realism and abstract expressionism to today’s post-modern and hybrid tendencies.

Post-war art intertwined with hope, trauma, and complexities of post-colonial identity, became Ateneo Art Gallery’s foundation and permanent collection, placed on the first and second level of the building, while modern and fresh approaches to art are in the third-floor gallery, showcasing contemporary and experimental art projects with bold forms, abstraction, and social themes that grapple with traditional academic art.