PURITA KALAW-LEDESMA PRIZES IN ART CRITICISM 2024

The 11th year of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism welcomes entries on the theme of ‘Fluctuation.’

In the 1974 book The Struggle for Philippine Art, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma and Amadis Ma. Guerrero described the Philippine art scene of the time as “a fluctuating, flexible and wide-open field” where diverse trends were concurrently explored by the artists. Kalaw-Ledesma emphasized that an artist should “never [be] in a fixed state of mind” and should always experiment with new ideas and approaches as life continues to shift beyond one’s control and expectations.

In this state of fluctuation, Kalaw-Ledesma affirmed the essential role of criticism, for it points out the significance of the artist’s work and efforts in experimentation to both the viewer and the artist. She stated that, without criticism, the art movement in the Philippines would not develop.

Prompted by Kalaw-Ledesma’s perception of fluctuation as a realm of possibility, we seek entries anchored as criticism about artists, art works, exhibitions, projects, practices, or events that take a cue from irregular and unexpectable changes. Fluctuation alludes to the sense of unpredictability prevalent today, as intensified by war, inflation, environmental crises, technological developments, and divisive public opinions. Concentrating on fluctuation may create opportunities to reconsider the importance of art and, therefore, the role of criticism in the face of uncertainty.

The Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism will have English and Filipino categories. A panel of jurors will shortlist a maximum of six (6) writers from each category. From these lists, winners will be selected by the editors of the partner publications. Winners will be announced during the awarding ceremony scheduled in November 2024.

Two winners will be selected from the English category. The winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for The Philippine Star will be awarded a regular column under ‘Platforms’ in the Arts and Culture section of the paper, to be published once a month with a total of 12 articles for a year. The winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for ArtAsiaPacific will be contributing to the bi-monthly publication, with a total of six (6) articles for a year.

One winner selected from the Filipino category will be awarded the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for Katipunan Journal and will be contributing to the bi-annual research publication, with a total of two (2) articles for a year.

In addition to the opportunity to have their written works published, one of the winners will be selected and offered a month-long writer’s residency with Orange Project in Bacolod City, one of our local residency partners. The residency will give the winning writer an opportunity to immerse and interact with the local art community.

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). Kalaw-Ledesma 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.”

QUALIFICATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS

Employees, whether full-time or contractual, of the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, or Kalaw Ledesma-Foundation, Inc., are not allowed to participate.

Must be based in the Philippines.

To avoid conflicts of interest, participants must not have a regular column and must not hold an editorial post in any broadsheet or local/international magazine. Regular columnists are not allowed to join but contributors, defined as any person whose written work is published with a byline but not identified as a columnist, may join.

Bloggers defined as writers of online journals, websites, or whose written work is published in electronic social media may join.

Past winners of the PKL Prize are not eligible to participate.

Writers who have been shortlisted in the past for the PKL Prize may still submit an entry.

MECHANICS FOR ENTRIES

Entries should be essays with no more than 1,000 words.

Entries must reflect the theme of the Program. This year’s theme is Fluctuation, inviting entries anchored as criticism about artists, art works, exhibitions, projects, practices, or events that take a cue from irregular and unexpectable changes. Fluctuation alludes to the sense of unpredictability prevalent today, as intensified by war, inflation, environmental crises, technological developments, and divisive public opinions.

The entry must be written on A4-sized paper. The font should be Arial, Times New Roman, or Book Antiqua, font size 12.

Entries must be submitted digitally as both Word and PDF file attachments with no indication of the identity of the writer on the documents.

Only one original entry is allowed per participant.

The essay should not have been published before on any printed or online platform.
Any entry that has been submitted for consideration in any other writing contest before 30 November 2024 will be disqualified.

Entries must be collated in an accessible Google Drive and submitted at go.ateneo.net/PKL2024Entry with the following file formats with the writer’s last name and title of the entry (ex. Dela Cruz - Essay Title) as filename:

Entry in Word document format (ex. Dela Cruz - Essay Title.docx)
Entry in PDF format (ex. Dela Cruz - Essay Title.pdf)

The deadline for submission of entries will be on 30 June 2024 (Sunday), 11:59 PM.

Copyright of entries of the shortlisted writers (including the winners) shall be held by the writer jointly with AAG and KLFI. All shortlisted and winning essays will be published online in Vital Points after the awarding.

---

Palengkero na ako, anuman ang kahulugan nito. Napadadalas na kasi ang pagkahumaling ko sa pagkakasabit, salansan ng mga gulay at prutas. Napadadalas ang pag-iikot ko sa mga pasikot-sikot ngunit hindi masikip na eskinita ng palengke para lang tumingin-tingin at aliwin ang sarili. Iba kasi ang kaligiran ng mga palengke sa ilang probinsya. Malinis at maaliwalas dahil hindi sa gusali nakalagak ang mga pwesto kundi sa tabi ng kalsada.

Mula nang mag-lockdown, nilimitahan na ang paglalabas ng bahay. Isang tao sa bawat miyembro ng pamilya lang ang kailangang lumabas. May takdang araw rin ang bawat barangay para sa pamamalengke. Sa amin, Martes at Huwebes. At dahil wala na kaming magulang at ako ang panganay sa bahay, nasa hustong gulang, ako lang ang maaaring lumabas sa amin. Noong General Community Quarantine pa sa lugar namin, tulad ng aming katawan na kulong sa loob ng bahay, kulong din ang aming isip. Parang nakakahon. Nakabuburyong. Nang mga unang araw ng paglabas, hapon pa ako kung mamalengke para hindi mainit kapag pauwi na dahil wala namang masakyan at mabigat bitbitin ang mga pinamalengke. Halos isang oras rin ang layo namin sa palengke kung lalakarin. Papunta pa lang iyon. Nang ibaba sa Modified General Community Quarantine o MGCQ ang protokol ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Goa sa Bikol, tinanggal na rin ang takdang araw ng pamamalengke pero may paalala pa ring magsuot lagi ng face mask kapag lalabas.

May balak na ako noong magboluntaryo bilang frontliner sa mga barangay checkpoint. Pero wala akong kakayahan dahil una, hindi naman kami taga dito. Nangungupahan lang kami dahil malapit sa paaralan na pinapasukan ng mga kapatid ko. Pangalawa, walang mag-aasikaso dito sa bahay. Kaya bilang pagtulong sa mga frontliner, sinisikap naming manatili sa bahay.

Isa sa mga dahilan kaya gulay ang madalas kong bilhin ay dahil nagtitipid. Halos lahat nawalan ng trabaho kaya mahirap kumita. Walang aasahan na perang papasok. Sa isandaang piso, dalawang araw nang ulam ‘yon. Isang upo, isang kilong talong, isang bungkos ng pako, tatlong piraso ng ampalaya. Anim kami sa bahay. Napagkakasya naman. Sa sunod na pamamalengke, isang kalabasa, isang taling pechay, kalahating kilong sitaw, dalawang patola at isang miswa. Bonus na kung may pambili ng pansit bato na trenta pesos ang kilo o espadang tuyo. Kapag may gulay na dahon sa pinamili ko, halimbawa ng pechay, iyon ang agad kong iniluluto upang maiwasan ang pagkalanta. Brunch ang ginagawa namin, pinagsamang breakfast at lunch. Kaya naman dalawang beses lang kaming kumain sa loob ng isang araw. Mas malakas kami sa kanin. Dalawang kilo sa isang araw.

Nito ko lang din nalaman na Linggo pala ang bagsakan ng gulay sa palengke dito. Alas singko ng umaga, nakalatag na ang lahat ng kanilang paninda sa kahabaan ng kalye Bautista. Karaniwan lang ang kalsadang iyon katulad ng maraming kalsada sa mundo. Sa tantiya ko nasa limang daan hakbang ang haba ng kalsadang iyon. Isang karnabal ng umaga ang pagbagsak at paglatag ng samot-saring gulay sa kahabaan ng Bautista. Parang sasabog ang naramdaman ko noon nang unang beses akong mamalengke ng linggo. Bagong-bago ang lahat sa akin. Sa himig ng chacha, ganado ang lahat. Sumasalimbay naman sa kabilang ng kalsada ang pagbati ng pang-umagang DJ ng radyo. Paroo’t parito ang mga taong may mask ang mukha. Kaniya-kaniyang tawag ng mga suki at alok ng paninda. May mga aleng bultuhan kung mamili. Baka paninda rin nila iyon sa kanilang lugar, o para sa karendirya. Hindi tulad ko, sukat at kalkulado ang kailangang ipamili.

Hindi naman na bago sa akin ang palengke dahil noong nasa Las Piñas pa ako at nagtatrabaho bilang isang kusinero sa isang Thai food resto, minsan, ako rin naman ang namamalengke bandang Zapote o Alabang. Depende sa bibilhin. Kapag mga karne, sa Alabang. Kapag mga gulay, sa Zapote. Alas tres pa lang noon, nasa palengke na ako para pagbukas sa umaga ng restoran ay preparado na. Kaya kahit papaano, alam ko kung paano mamilì ng mga sariwa at hindi, alam ko kung paano makipagngitian at makipagtawaran sa mga suki.

Pero ngayon, ibang lugod ang dulot sa akin ng pamamalengke. Napapanatag ako nito mula sa isiping gastusin at kawalan ng trabaho. Nalilibang ako nito. Napaglilimi ako ng pamamalengke, halimbawa kung gaano katagal bago makapag-ani sa tanim na sitaw, upo, o kung ilang araw bago puwedeng bunutin ang tanim na pechay. Mga bagay na hindi ko natutuhan sa elementarya at hayskul dahil puro cutting class ang pinaggagagawa ko. O kung gaano kaliit o kalaki ang maaaring kitain sa ganitong puhunan, hindi para usisain kung gaano kalaki ang patong nila sa paninda kundi paraan ko na rin ito upang mangumusta. Alam mo ‘yon, ugnayan. Napakahalaga ng ugnayang mamimili at tindera/tindero dahil pagpupulso ito kapwa sa araw-araw na dinaranas lalo’t pare-pareho kaming biktima ng pandemya. Bagaman karamihan sa mga nagtitinda ay may sariling taniman ng gulay, lahat pa rin apektado. Mas madalas kong bilhan silang maliliit na naglalatag lang ng sako at doon ilalagay ang kanilang paninda. Sila iyong walang inuupahang pwesto sa palengke pero kailangang makilatag dahil nawalan ng pamumuhay.

Sabik akong lagi sa araw ng Linggo. Nariyang muli na makukumusta ko iyong nabilhan nang nagdaang Linggo, makakabiruan, o mapagsusumbungan na ng inis sa buhay. O baka naman talaga hindi gulay ang kinahuhumalingan ko kundi ang pakikipag-usap, ang pangangailangang may makausap na ibang tao bukod sa mga kapatid ko, sa minamahal, dahil walang kailangang ipagpanggap na ikuwento sa kanila, dahil baka iyon lang din naman ang kailangan ko, na may mangumusta sa kalagayang mental upang sandaling maibaling ang isip palayo sa umaapaw na ligalig.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

In solidarity with the Filipino community affected by COVID-19, the Ateneo Art Gallery in cooperation with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc. has organized the AAG x KLFI Essay Writing Prize to support writers affected by the crisis. With the theme “Thoughts and Actions of Our Time: Surmounting the Pandemic,” writers were encouraged to submit essays that reflect on or discuss the turmoil, struggles, initiatives, and expressions of hope during these trying times.

Through this Prize, the Ateneo Art Gallery hopes to extend assistance to artists and writers in its capacity as a university museum highlighting the Filipino creativity, strength, and resilience during this difficult period.

After receiving more than 100 submissions for the competition, six (6) winning entries were selected by a panel of jurors for each of the student and non-student categories. Writers of the winning entries received a monetary prize and their essays will be published by the Ateneo Art Gallery in an exhibition catalog accompanied by images of shortlisted works from the Marciano Galang Acquisition Prize (MGAP). Essays are also published in the Vital Points website, the online platform for art criticism developed by AAG and KLFI.

View the online exhibition for MGAP and the AAG-KLFI writing competition here.