The art landscape in Manila is not nearly as dynamic as what you’d find in cities like Hong Kong or Tokyo, but collectors are showing an interest in Filipino artists. At Christie’s recent Asian 20th-century and contemporary art sale in Hong Kong, works by Philippine-born artists fetched thousands of dollars.

If you want to get to know the local scene a bit more, Manila offers plenty of museums and galleries dedicated to paintings, sculptures and more by treasured Filipino artists. Start at the Ayala Museum in the heart of Makati. One of its more famous exhibitions, “Gold of Ancestors: Pre-Colonial Treasures in the Philippines,” showcases a vast collection of artifacts dating back before Europeans reached the country in the 16th century. There’s also a fabulous exhibition dedicated to 19^th-century Philippine textiles titled “Embroidered Multiples.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila houses a permanent exhibition on the country’s contemporary art narrative. Called “The Philippine Contemporary: To Scale the Past and the Possible,” the collection is dedicated to the best artists the country has produced including Yasmin Sison, whose work has been shown all over the world, from Singapore to Milan. Art lovers will find the Ateneo Art Gallery’s rotating exhibitions particularly exciting, too, ranging from large-scale outdoor installations by award-winning artist Anton del Castillo to paintings by Buen Calubayan.