Alliance Française de Manille announces AFM-PARP grant awardee
MANILA, Philippines - Alliance Française de Manille (AFM) is pleased to announce that the second grant of its recently established program, the Alliance Française de Manille-Philippine Artist Residency Program (AFM-PARP), has been awarded to sculptor Ronald “Riel” Hilario.
Hilario learned santo-making in his native Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and was a scholar at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling, Laguna. He went on to study painting and art history at the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines. He has had numerous solo exhibitions in the Philippines and has participated in group exhibitions in India, Germany, and Singapore. He has been the recipient of several important awards: he won the Manila Art Awards in 2011 and is a finalist at the 2012 Philippine Art Awards. He was shortlisted at the Ateneo Art Awards in 2010, and was awarded an NCCA grant in 2003. Hilario was curator at Boston and Pinto Galleries for several years, has conducted numerous art workshops, and was a co-founder of Art Informal.
Hilario bested three other outstanding young artists, and was selected winner by a distinguished panel of judges composed of sculptor Ramon Orlina, painter Manuel Baldemor, BSP Museum Curator Ginny Cruz, AFM-PARP grantee Ambie Abano, and AFM board of directors President Deanna Ongpin-Recto. Hilario will take up his residency grant in Paris from September to December 2012.
The AFM-PARP program was launched in July 2010 to mark AFM’s 90th anniversary. It was conceived as a means to broaden professional networks between contemporary art communities in the Philippines and France. The three-month residency, to be hosted by an artists’ residence in France, aims to enrich the experience of local artists within the contemporary art scene, by providing them opportunities for stimulating cultural exchanges and collaboration with other artists. One residency is offered annually to Filipino visual artists.
For details, call 895-7441/895-7585, e-mail cultural@alliance.ph, or visit www.alliance.ph.
