Amid the growing threat of commercial fishing encroaching on municipal waters, Kikik Kollektive takes a stand through a compelling art collection exhibited at SM City Iloilo, as part of SM Supermalls’ nationwide art fair, Art for Everyone 2025.

Titled “Ang Dagat Samtang Mas Maarat,” the collection serves as a creative call to action inspired by the “Atin ang Kinse” campaign. It transforms canvases into advocacy, shedding light on the vital role of coastal communities and the urgent need to protect small-scale fisherfolk. These communities call for the preservation of the 15-kilometer municipal waters—resisting the intrusion of commercial fishing vessels—and emphasize the importance of safeguarding local livelihoods, ensuring food security, and promoting marine sustainability.

Read: Kikik Kollektive at the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

“The exhibit uses art as a platform to highlight the cultural, ecological, and economic importance of coastal communities,” stated Kikik Kollektive’s official exhibit statement. It “subtly amplifies the voices of fisherfolk, raising awareness about food security, marine sustainability, and the everyday realities of life by the sea.”

Created by 14 artists and conceptualized by Juliana Pudadera, the collection features a series of small, individual paintings—each a unique fragment of personal memory and experience with the sea and marine life.

Like pieces of a visual collage, each work stands alone in detail but unites with the others to form a powerful, cohesive statement. Rendered in thematic blues—accented with turquoise and ultramarine—the collection is arranged across four central panels in the exhibit’s main space. It invites viewers to step closer, observe the quiet nuances and personal stories within each piece, and reflect on the interplay between part and whole, personal and political.

Together, “Ang Dagat Samtang Mas Maarat” echoes a shared truth carried by Filipino fisherfolk and families living along the country’s shores. It delivers a message greater than the sum of its parts.

Check out one of their recent project: Kikik Kollektive, NISU unveiled Dagyaw mural Rooted in Rural Dignity

Kikik Kollektive’s work stands as both witness and warning—truly an art for everyone, as it enjoins both participating artists and the audience in the call to defend the 15-kilometer municipal waters, uphold the rights of coastal communities, and protect the future of life sustained by the sea.