DPC visual arts tilt draws hundreds of student artists

MANILA, Philippines - Showcasing winning artworks that become familiar to thousands of Filipinos through the Metro Manila phone directory, the Directories Philippines Corp. (DPC) and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) launched the 25th DPC-PLDT Visual Arts National Competition, the longest-running annual art contest in the country. The competition continues to help launch the careers of promising young artists, and is one of the few local contests aimed at promoting Filipino art appreciation and awareness.

Hundreds of students from more than 20 participating schools and representatives from DPC and PLDT gathered for the event held at the PICC.

National Artist Napoleon Abueva, designer of the winners’ trophies and plaques for over two decades, also graced the event.

DPC’s vice president for marketing Edna Villena expounded on the company’s continuing commitment to the arts and the youth’s talents.

“We look at it as a venue to showcase Filipino artistry,” she said. “There are a lot of companies holding competitions for professional painters and artists, so we brought it to the students. This year’s theme is special because the values represented in this competition are Filipino pride and openness to reach out to the global community. Join us and we’ll showcase your talent to the world!”

Reaching millions of households nationwide, DPC promotes Filipino art by featuring the winning artwork on the cover of the 2011-2012 DPC Yellow Pages Telephone Directory. On top of that, the grand prize winner will be getting a P100,000 cash prize and an Abueva trophy.

The theme for this year’s contest is “Bridging Filipinos to the World” and participating students are encouraged to create art that captures the essence of technology as a bridge connecting Filipinos to modernity, quality of life and societal change.

DPC and PLDT enable such a phenomenon to take place, being two institutions that have been connecting Filipinos to the world for over 20 years now. Both have been facilitating communication for Filipinos-DPC through print Yellow Pages and its online version eyp.ph, and PLDT with its telecommunication services.

Architect Ted Villamor Innocencio, dean of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ College of Architecture and Fine Arts, expressed his excitement over the art competition.

“I’m looking forward to better participation from my school and other schools,” Innocencio enthused. “Visual art is a universal language. DPC offers this opportunity and platform to young Filipinos, especially the artistically inclined, to showcase their talent and artistry without fear.”

Angelito De Guzman, University of the East’s college secretary of Fine Arts, added “It’s always a battle of concept and creativity. I am willing to give my advice and anecdotes on past experiences to participating students who need it.”

DPC, the leader in the directory-advertising industry in the Philippines for over 50 years, is confident that this year’s search will reveal a number of young painters with the potential to be influential in local arts and culture. And with its current theme of “Bridging Filipinos to the World” the DPC-PLDT 25th Visual Arts National Competition hopes to further inspire connectivity and bring these young aspiring artists the attention they deserve.