Ateneo art awards 2022 concludes with Purita Kalaw-Ledesma prizes for art criticism writing
Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) announced the winners of this year’s Purita Kalaw-Ledesma (PKL) Prizes in Art Criticism. The awarding ceremony was held last Nov. 19, 2022, Saturday, at the Ben Chan ArtSuite, Ateneo Art Gallery, Soledad V Pangilinan Arts Wing, Areté.
This year’s call for entries was on the theme “Fresh Winds and New Light: Forecasting Change.” Submissions included 29 entries in the English category and eight entries in the Filipino category. These were then shortlisted to six entries in English and four entries in Filipino before the selection of winners.
Two winners were selected from the English category. The winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for The Philippine STAR is Nicole Soriano with her essay “The Insistence of Hope.” Soriano will be awarded a monthly column for a year under “Platforms” in the Arts and Culture section of the Philippine STAR. She is also the receipient of a month-long writer’s residency by Ateneo Art Awards residency partner, Orange Project, a creative hub in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
The winning writer for the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism for ArtAsiaPacific magazine is Dondie Casanova for his essay, “The Forest Fire at the Brutal Beauty: Jinggoy Buensuceso’s KAINGIN.” Casanova will have the opportunity to contribute six articles to the bimonthly Hong Kong-based publication for a year.
The winner from the Filipino category awarded with the the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for Katipunan Journal is Gian Carlo Delgado for “Mga palagay sa panahon, espasyo, at gunita: Pagturing sa eksibisyong ‘Gintong Liwayway: Sining ng Progresibong Pagbabago.’” They will receive the opportunity to contribute a total of two articles to the bi-annual research publication for a year.
Trophies were presented to the 10 shortlisted writers and to the three winners by Ateneo de Manila University officials — Fr. Roberto C. Yap, president, and Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, vice president for the Loyola Schools; Anna Marie Ozaeta, Kalaw Ledesma Foundation, Inc. president; Millet Mananquil, Lifestyle editor, The Philippine STAR; Dr. Alvin Yapan, editor, Katipunan Journal; and Jovino de Guzman Miroy, Ph.D., Department of Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University. All shortlisted and winning essays are available on the Vital Points microsite.
The awarding event held last Nov. 19 also coincided with the opening of the Ateneo Art Awards 2022 Return Exhibition of past winners. The return exhibition has been an integral part of the Ateneo Art Awards program since 2008, offering past winners who have been invited to an overseas art residency a venue to present their recent endeavors. With the newly adopted biennial program for the Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Arts, this exhibition alternates with the visual arts prizes. The Ateneo Art Awards 2022 return exhibition focuses on winners in 2016 and 2017 who were invited to residencies in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Australia. Martha Atienza, Nathalie Dagmang, Gale Encarnacion, Cian Dayrit, and Cos Zicarelli completed month-long residencies between 2017 and 2018. The exhibition is on view at the Fredesvinda Almeda Consunji Gallery, Ambeth R Ocampo Gallery, Elizabeth Gokongwei Gallery, and Alicia P Lorenzo Gallery and will run until March 4, 2023.
The Ateneo Art Awards Purita Kalaw-Ledesma (PKL) Prizes for Art Criticism was launched in 2014 by Ateneo Art Gallery and Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc. (KLFI). It was named in honor of Purita Kalaw-Ledesma, art patron and founder of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP). Purita believed in art criticism’s “vital role in the development of culture,” citing its capacity to “guide both artists towards new directions and public taste towards the best in past and current artistic output.”
The PKL shortlist was selected by the following jurors: Jose Dalisay, Jr., Ph.D. and Conchitina Cruz, Ph.D. of the Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines Diliman; Scott Garceau, Lifestyle desk editor of The Philippine STAR; Chloe Chu, managing editor of ArtAsiaPacific; Jovino de Guzman Miroy, Ph.D., Department of Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University; Alvin Yapan, Ph.D., editor of Katipunan: Journal ng Mga Pag-aaral sa Wika, Panitikan, Sining at Kulturang Pilipino and associate professor, Kagawaran ng Filipino, Ateneo de Manila University; (English category) Anne Marie Ozaeta, president, Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc.; and (Filipino category) Ma. Victoria Herrera, director and chief curator of Ateneo Art Gallery.
Here is a list of this year’s shortlisted writers (in alphabetical order): English Category: Dondie Casanova (“The Forest Fire at the Brutal Beauty: Jinggoy Buensuceso’s KAINGIN”), Francesca Locsin (“Non-Fungible Threats”), Kaye O’Yek (“The Weight of Incandescence”), Nicole Primero (“The Virtual Hug, A Dance”), Nicole Soriano (“The Insistence of Hope”), Czyka Tumaliuan (“Institutions Are Burning; Load Na Dito!”); Filipino Category: Roy Cagalingan (“Sa Mga Nilisan ng Panlasa”), Gian Carlo Delgado (“Mga palagay sa panahon, espasyo, at gunita: Pagturing sa eksibisyong “Gintong Liwayway: Sining ng Progresibong Pagbabago”), Jord Earving Gadingan (“Tao sa Tao”), Vladimeir Gonzales (“Teatrong Ergonic sa Panahon ng Pandemya”).
* * *
For general questions or inquiries, drop a line to info@ateneo.edu.
