Six Escolta creatives are igniting a bold renaissance, cultivating community and belonging in Manila&rsquo;s historic district.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVE DIRECTION Karl King Agu&ntilde;a &nbsp;PRODUCER Belg Belgica

Huddled together in the elegant dome nestled on the top floor, photographer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/karlkingaguna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karl King Agu&ntilde;a</a> frames a tableau of six Escolta creatives. These individuals have all found tenancy in the iconic art deco landmark that is the First United Building. The dome, a mesmerising space radiant with natural light and grounded by cinnamon wooden floors, is lined with walls of delicate tonal grays. Off these walls bounces a soundscape of pop, disco and &rsquo;90s bangers. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/andrechance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andre Chan</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/artsybeaver/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arts Serrano</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/belgbelgica/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Belg Belgica</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jodinand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jodinand Aguillon</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mikhailquijano/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mikhail Quijano</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/zivreialexi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ziv Rei Alexi</a> soak it all in. They are the latest in a suite of creatives making a mark in Manila&rsquo;s historic downtown.
In all of its 96 years of glory, the First United Building has seen a convergence of creatives&mdash;from Philippine cinema heavyweights like Dolphy and Nora Aunor to the continuous revolving door of present-day tenants: artists, entrepreneurs and designers alike. In the confluence of these movers and shakers along with their divergent journeys and practices, they have managed to intersect on one potent vector&mdash;a creative renaissance and community development with a come-as-you-are welcomeness that sets the tone for all engagements.

One who grasps the weight of this creative renaissance is Belg Belgica, a fashion portrait photographer and founder of Espacio Creativo Escolta. &ldquo;I feel like I represent the new wave of creatives that held space in Escolta post-pandemic,&rdquo; he says. Much of this is attributed to Belgica&rsquo;s creative journey, an endearing full-circle moment as his grandfather once kept an office here. His life-changing pivot came after careers in both corporate and medical fields. In all those years, Belgica perpetually clutched a camera&mdash;a testament to his unwavering zest for photography. He is a strong proponent of creatives who, like him, started late in the game. He perceives this as a strength and provides space and support to those who are honing their styles and navigating the industry.
Belgica sees the medium as a passage for community building, evident in the studio&rsquo;s multi-pronged approach: deepening bonds with Manila creatives through photography-based collaborations, championing individuality through open studio portrait sessions and hosting open model castings. His focus, introducing fresh faces and rookies to the industry. Managing director of the First United Building, Robby Sylianteng, echoes this: &ldquo;We try to have the right people in the right place and we operate on a great set of values.&rdquo; The result: a sweet spot in impactful cultural programming that is non-stuffy and inclusive.

This ethos is embraced by the fashion house of Ziv Rei Alexi, who speaks with delightful pride: &ldquo;My drag muses organically gravitated to the studio and this has morphed it into a safe space for self-expression.&rdquo; To him, Escolta is a state of mind, where elegant house codes collide with punk attitudes. This philosophy permeates his eponymous brand&mdash;a study on contradictions, mixing delicate forms and transparency with grit and tactility. Mirroring downtown Manila&rsquo;s industrial decay, his recent ready-to-wear campaign was shot entirely outdoors in bustling Escolta. From cracked cement on dresses to cheeky appliqu&eacute;s&mdash;think pearls on intimates and soda bottle crown embellishments on tailored pieces&mdash;his designs reflect the district&rsquo;s raw energy.
Other tenants see inclusivity coming from the construct of the building itself. Arts Serrano, founder of One/Zero&mdash;an architecture and design firm that specialises in interior architecture and placemaking&mdash;advocates for physical and metaphorical structures that harbour inclusivity and safety. Going for the jugular, &ldquo;In the urban context,&rdquo; he expresses, &ldquo;we can consider Escolta as a queer space&mdash;on the fringe of a business district and oftentimes overlooked and disregarded.&rdquo; Though grassroots efforts have made it a formidable space for safely expressing identity, it is still met with scepticism. Serrano says, &ldquo;We see many potentials in it as creatives, and as a queer person, I hope to work toward helping society unlearn the many misconceptions about this side of downtown Manila.&rdquo; On architecture&rsquo;s role, he sees it as providing shelter to help queer people express and affirm their identities closer to home, contributing to self-acceptance.

This rings true for multidisciplinary artist Andre Chan, whose occupancy for him feels like a long-standing artist residency&mdash;a testament to how modern dandies and eclectic characters thrive in this environment. Here, the space he holds has become more than a studio&mdash;it&rsquo;s a haven for unadulterated self-expression. Primarily a painter, his work straddles abstraction, assemblage and installations. Thick impasto and nondescript figures in a polychromatic landscape are recurring themes on his canvas. His penchant for science and philosophy reverberates through his work. Their vibrancy alludes to the biological, akin to a psychedelic petri dish&mdash;sublime and painterly. &ldquo;I manipulate to uncover the unknown and how the past, present and future align with us as individuals,&rdquo; he says.
Glorious Dias, a concept store by Jodinand Aguillon, takes an affirming path to self-discovery, seen through its rich visual notes on Filipino-ness. Masterfully crafting a tapestry of camp and chicness through vintage or reworked pieces and sustainable designs, Aguillon believes that it is all steeped in culture. &ldquo;The practice of reusing or repurposing vintage textiles is inherently a Filipino thing,&rdquo; he explains. Years of amassing and archiving costumes and mementos through styling and design work have led him on a path of self-discovery. &ldquo;My entry point into exploring Filipino culture and my Filipino-ness as a Filipino-Canadian was really through Filipino folk dance, so I was enamoured by the costumes.&rdquo; At Glorious Dias, this perspective goes beyond clothing or developing personal style&mdash;it poses a deeper dialogue on the Filipino diaspora and collective memory through the canon of Filipino fashion history.

Dance is also a powerful medium for Mikhail Quijano&rsquo;s We Are Shape Shifters, a pioneering ballroom studio. He describes it as &ldquo;an LGBTQIA+ affirmative space&mdash;it&rsquo;s for and by the community&rdquo;. This advocacy for empowering chosen families is affirmed through programming and workshops that reclaim and empower queer bodies. The studio enriches the ballroom culture discourse beyond voguing through flow jams, serving face and dance cyphers. Extending its mission further, the space offers writing workshops, mindfulness sessions and somatic wellness practices aimed at healing queer trauma. &ldquo;I try to make sure that the space acts as a conduit for people to come together and move&mdash;physically, mentally, spiritually and so on,&rdquo; Quijano asserts.
A glaring affirmation of change and the collective's impact is Hola Escolta, a mammoth block party spearheaded by Serrano and key creatives. This event culminates a year&rsquo;s worth of programming, marked by a rave with DJ sets that soundtrack core memories aplenty. Rave culture, also experiencing a resurgence in Manila&rsquo;s creative spheres, has become a fitting vessel to punctuate celebrations like these. Akin to the ballroom experience, Quijano quips, &ldquo;Everyone can move, and by that virtue, I believe everyone is a dancer. I hope they are able to find kindred folk in our space that can help them explore the beauty and power of movement.&rdquo; And dance they did.

This moment marks not only a milestone for the First United Building&rsquo;s creative tenancy but also a reflection of its stellar community development, which transcends into a potent post-luxury movement. It extends to establishments providing services at the event&mdash;dispensing a valuable stimulus package for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Changes like these are marked by shifts&mdash;from excessive material consumption to communal, experience-based fulfillment. It is a portal for something aspirational: a cultural participation laden with genuine connections, putting the focus on how creative spaces foster and strengthen collective identities.
In this regard, Sylianteng echoes Serrano&rsquo;s virtue that it should be &ldquo;community over commercialism, collaboration over isolated pursuits&mdash;knowledge is to be shared, not gate-kept&rdquo;. Bayanihan is a driving force that imbues their collective effort. He adds, &ldquo;We serve as a space where diverse voices converge in discourse, alongside the guiding principle of malasakit.&rdquo; This echoes the theory of Third Space, coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his seminal 1989 work, &ldquo;The Great Good Place&rdquo;. As seen in the creative residencies and their impact, third spaces are described as neither work nor home, but public spaces that encourage interactions essential to identity, community vitality and local democracy, reinforcing a calm state of mind that welcomes synergy and collaboration.

As these visionaries chart the past, scale the present and approximate the future, a consensus emerges: hope. A hope to open a national dialogue on the importance of creative ecologies and the safe spaces they uphold for communities. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Escolta as an arts district,&rdquo; Sylianteng envisions. &ldquo;As a residential neighbourhood. Escolta alive at night, every night. Escolta as a destination.&rdquo; There is still much work to be done, but the spirit of collaboration and resilience ensures that this historic district is not just revived&mdash;it is redefined for generations to come.

GROOMING Bhads Castor PHOTOGRAPHER&rsquo;S ASSISTANTS&nbsp;Hallvard Cano and Sarah El-Ali SHOOT ASSISTANT Ronald Rene Godinez Jr. LOCATION First United Building

Escolta’s New Vanguard Is Shaping Manila’s Creative Future at the First United Building

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