Global Citizen’s Emerging Creatives Program provides a platform for emerging creatives in the Global South that are highlighting the need for open civic space worldwide. Through their art, they call for change, shine a light on social injustices, and advocate for the advancement of the Global Goals.
JULY 2026
FEATURED CREATIVE
Vonna Vista
PHILIPPINES
This month, the Emerging Creatives Program takes us to the Philippines with queer artist-activist Vonna Vista.
Vista, who spent years in writing, photography, and film before the pandemic pulled them into advocacy, confronts a crisis most of us throw away without a second thought. The Philippines generates roughly 1.7 million metric tons of post-consumer plastic waste each year, and e-commerce is accelerating the problem. Vista transforms discarded packaging into work that refuses to let plastic waste stay invisible, while calling on governments and corporations to carry the responsibility that too often gets pushed onto individual consumers.
Vista also speaks about building a career as a queer woman in a male-dominated industry, and about making space where almost none existed.