Subjective mapping of the Philippines
★ May 2025 → Summer 2027 (expected) ⚑
Initiated by the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), we are currently developing the Subjective Atlas of the Philippines. Through workshops held across the country, the project gathers bottom-up cartographies created by Filipinos themselves, forming a visual anthology of lived experiences. Dubbed Project Panatag, it is an ethnographic and arts-based psychosocial research initiative that uses creative mapping to explore emotional, cultural, and territorial dynamics. The project deepens place-based identity and strengthens collective resilience, through artistic practices that activate local narratives and community knowledge. Central to this inquiry is water: not merely a resource, but a cultural and ecological lifeline, a marker of historical connection and ongoing territorial contestation. Project Panatag traces how water shapes heritage, identity, and belonging. In doing so, the atlas becomes an evolving platform for dialogue, healing, and the mapping of new solidarities.
Events
Workshops
We organised a series of workshops across the Philippines that aimed for more multi-vocal and plural-diverse representations. In these workshops, we fostered local narratives and community insights to deepen the sense of place-based identity and resilience among communities affected by territorial disputes. It is a psychosocial research initiative in which we employ creative mapping to investigate Filipinos’ lived experiences—particularly the emotional and socio-cultural dynamics. The workshops united local artists, community members, and fisherfolk in a collaborative exploration of perspectives shaped by the West Philippine Sea conflicts and our interconnection with water.
Press
“Last May 21, 2025, Yuchengco Museum hosted the Philippines’ first iteration of Project Panatag: Subjective Atlas of the Philippines, a collaborative project organized by the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) and De Vet’s publication initiative Subjective Editions. Through various workshops around the country, the project aims to create bottom-up cartographies of the Philippines mapped by Filipinos themselves, resulting in a visual anthology of their lived experience in the country.”
— Yuchenko museum
“The Orange Project workshop gathered 20 Negrense artists and cultural workers for a full day of creating maps, stories, and emotional landscapes together. Their works ranged from annotated routes and photo collages and map making all focused on capturing the feelings and memories tied to their communities and land. Instead of the usual maps that focus on borders or infrastructure, these pieces are about memory, family ties, loss, and resilience. The artists reflected on certain aspects of their shared history as a community, using digital drawing and skillful portrait making to bring those stories to life. One artist from Victorias City, highlighted how Filipinos love to celebrate feasts and the special moments shared around the dining table during fiesta gatherings as a tradition carried out by their family, an important part of her cultural identity.”
— Philippine launch of Project Panatag hosted in Bacolod, Visayan daily Star (6 March 2025)
“Organized by NBSC’s Research, Development, and Innovation Division (RDID), the workshop fostered an environment of dialogue and collaborative creation. The event not only empowered students to translate their stories into visual art but also introduced new, community-centered methods of inquiry to the college, enriching its approach to knowledge creation.”
— Northern Bukidon State College (28 August 2025)
“With every page, I discover aspects of Bosnia that I (and I imagine many others) tend to overlook in daily life. Yet when I see them laid out so thoughtfully, my first reaction is, “Oh yes, I’ve never noticed that, but it’s so Bosnian!” It will leave a lasting impression on everyone involved—and many beyond. “
— Victorias homegrown artists join Project Panatag workshop, Negros Now Daily (30 May 2025)
Acknowledgements
Initiator: Josephine Turalba (PWU) Coordinator: Arriana Turalba Editor in Chief: Annelys de Vet (Subjective Editions) Graphic Design: Subjective Editions Guiding editor: Leonardo Munalim Contributors: Members of the different communties, as well as PWU students Publisher: Kurt Vanbelleghem (Subjective Editions) Communication: Dominique Arcenas, Amiel Kim Capitan Curator exhibition: Portia Placino
Institutional partners: Casa San Miguel (San Antonio, Zambales), Orange Project (Bacolod City), Philippine Women’s University (PWU), PWU Arts-Based Research Center (ARC), Subjective Editions
Supported by: Flemish Community, Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines (DTI), Victorias City (Negros Occidental)
