An 8-year-old Filipino artist, Alexander Maverick Racca Malunes, won the Poster of the Year Award at the 31st Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-31), which was hosted in Cebu City.
Malunes, who goes by the artist name BAP-K! (Batang Artist Pang-Kalawakan), received the award on March 8, 2026, during a global online ceremony. Malunes represented the Philippines in the contest, with the theme “Lunar City,” competing against 43 other young artists from 15 participating countries across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea.
Maverick Malunes poses with his awards from APRSAF-31 and PhilSa, with his winning artwork in the background. (Photo: Paul Malunes)
From Earth to outer space, through art
The results of the competition were determined via onsite and online voting. Malunes tied with Thailand’s Navalant Ruanthawee for first place, receiving an equal number of votes from a total of 4,459 votes. For Malunes’ entry, titled “Welcome to the Lunar City! The Concept of Rocket Capsule House,” the artist used ink markers, colored pencils, and acrylics to depict “a futuristic, sustainable lunar colony filled with colorful rocket-shaped homes, solar-powered rovers, and a joyful spirit of discovery.”
Malunes, a Grade 2 student in the Special Science Program at Las Piñas Elementary School Central, was selected as one of three Philippine representatives after winning first place at the Philippine Space Agency’s (PhilSA) #YamangKalawakan National Poster-Making Contest. According to a statement from Malunes’ father, Paul Merick Malunes of MAD Studios, the young artist is the first Filipino child artist to claim the top spot in the APRSAF competition’s 20-year history.
In 2023, Malunes won third place in the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Commercial Crew Program Children’s Artwork Calendar Competition, under the “Rockets & Spacecraft” (4-6 years old) category.—MF
Author: Mikael Angelo Francisco
Bitten by the science writing bug, Mikael has years of writing and editorial experience under his belt. As the editor-in-chief of FlipScience, Mikael has sworn to help make science more fun and interesting for geeky readers and casual audiences alike.
