Why Mahal, Why Now?
As we look toward the future of Balay Kreative and the next chapter of our work, one word continues to surface:
MAHAL.
In Tagalog, mahal carries a layered meaning. It can mean beloved, but it also means valuable or precious. Linguistically, the word reflects a history of cultural exchange across Southeast Asia, with roots influenced by Arabic through precolonial trade networks. Over time, it has come to express something deeper in Filipino culture — the idea that what we love is inherently worthy of care and protection.
Today, that idea feels especially urgent.
We are living in a time marked by loss, burnout, displacement, and widening inequities. Artists and cultural workers are navigating shrinking resources while continuing to hold space for community, memory, and imagination.
In this context, Mahal invites us to reconsider what we nurture, what we protect, and what we hold dear beyond profit or prestige.
via pinterest
The Core Theme: MAHAL
At its heart, Mahal asks a simple but powerful question: What do we hold dear?
For Kreative Growth 2026, Mahal is not simply a theme. It is a practice.
We are inviting artists to think about love not as abstraction, but as action. Care not as sentiment, but as cultural responsibility. Creativity not only as expression, but as a way of tending to one another and the places we call home.
Mahal speaks to:
Love as an action
Care as a cultural and political practice
Value beyond capitalism and extraction
What we hold dear and choose to protect
Artists are invited to explore Mahal as both an emotional and cultural practice — imagining new ways we care for one another, our communities, and the city we call home.
Artistic Inspiration for MAHAL
For Kreative Growth 2026 artist anchors, two influential Filipinx in the diaspora whose work models care, generosity, and process:
Pacita Abad and David Medalla
Pacita Abad in 1998.Photo: Courtesy Pacita Abad Art Estate | David Medalla in 1964. Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s
These references are not meant to be imitated directly. Rather, they serve as conceptual touchstones guiding the spirit of the program — shaping how we think about color, texture, process, and collective care.
Pacita Abad in her Jakarta studio, around 1994. Courtesy Pacita Abad Art Estate.
Pacita Abad — Color as an Act of Care
Inspired by Pacita Abad’s 2024 exhibition at SFMOMA, this reference draws from her fearless use of color, pattern, and material as expressions of joy, abundance, and cultural multiplicity.
Abad’s work treats color as a form of welcome — vibrant, layered, and unapologetically generous.
Her practice reminds us that visual richness can itself be an act of care. Warmth, play, and cultural specificity become powerful tools for connection rather than excess.
Pacita Abad, Water of Life, 1979. Acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy of the Pacita Abad Art Estate. Source: SFMOMA.
This influence informs the visual language of MAHAL: bold yet grounded, celebratory yet intentional.
Through this lens, color becomes a form of care.
David Medalla — Love as Process
David Medalla, A Stitch in Time, for the 57th Venice Biennale, 2017 | Image courtesy of the artist and the Venice Biennale
David Medalla’s practice offers a model for love as something lived, ongoing, and collectively shaped.
As a queer Filipinx artist working across the diaspora, Medalla centered participation, repair, and collaboration within his work. His piece A Stitch in Time invites visitors to sew objects and memories into a shared textile, allowing the artwork to evolve through many hands.
The work is never finished.
Instead, it grows over time — stitched, repaired, and reshaped by those who encounter it.
Medalla’s practice reminds us that care often unfolds through process. Through time. Through collaboration.
This reference informs our visual and conceptual approach to MAHAL: textures that feel human, traces of labor and time, and design elements that remain open to becoming.
David Medalla, Young Man Who Has Caught a Fish / Binatang nakahuli ng isda (Luz. Vi. Minda series, no. 5), 1986–1991. Image courtesy of Mountains Gallery.
Moving Forward with Care
As Kultivate Labs steps into its tenth year, MAHAL offers a framework for how we move forward.
It asks us to slow down enough to recognize what truly matters. It asks us to build creative spaces rooted not only in ambition, but in care.
The artists, cultural workers, and community members who have shaped Balay Kreative over the years continue to remind us that creative ecosystems do not thrive through speed alone. They grow through attention, relationships, and sustained commitment.
Mahal reminds us that what we love is worth tending.
And that tending — patient, collective, and ongoing — is the work ahead.
Apply to Kreative Growth 2026
Are you an artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area exploring themes of care, community, and cultural imagination?
We invite you to apply for Kreative Growth 2026: MAHAL.
This year’s theme asks artists to reflect on love as action, care as responsibility, and the creative ways we nurture one another and the places we call home.
Application Deadline: March 27
If this opportunity resonates with you, we encourage you to apply and share it with artists in your network and community.
MAHAL: Rebuilding With Intention
Over the past decade, we have watched artists and cultural workers navigate volatility — economic shifts, funding instability, rapid technological change, and the emotional weight of sustaining community spaces. MAHAL is our small but intentional response.
This year, we will award two $4,000 grants — not a sweeping solution, but a tangible investment. In a moment when many resources are shrinking, we believe even modest support, paired with community and visibility, can create real momentum.