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.

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It was then, a Filipino class some time ago, that our professor raised a question. “The best art was written in times of great crises,” he said. When humanity is faced with a dark era, the light of creativity shines through. Thus, he asked, where are the Obra Maestra? Are we not in crisis today?

I had no answer. I merely looked through the window and into the trees. Staring off into an unknown future as he spoke of shootings in dark corners. Sometime soon, the bell will ring. Setting into motion a delicate waltz of humanity, descending stairs red with floor wax into the next chapter of our lives.

In the era of Corona, I ponder upon that same question from long ago. The world is undergoing a crisis of identity. Astrologers point to a great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter this year challenging us to revisit societal norms. Economists point to an unknown future, speaking of recession.

Where are we going? Time coalesces together like the Gordian Knot. So stuck in an unimaginable pattern are we it’s a miracle Alexander has yet to cut it. All of a sudden it’s the third month of quarantine, then the fourth.

Yet it was not always like this. We once had our lives structured in the dance of hours. Each day dictated by the school bell. You pack your bags to proceed to the next figure.

5, 6, 7, 8

Cafeterias echoing with laughter and cutlery on plates. Glances of mischief are shared as you consider cutting class to getaway.

1,2,3,4

Afternoons where you feel the world catch its breath. All around you leaves slowly fall, fragile brushstrokes on pavement destroyed by the throng on their way home.

5,6,7,8

Evenings, the world cools yet the hum of activity goes on all the same. Somewhere in this dumpster we call a city, someone smiles upon hearing their first I love you.

Then it’s gone. The record we were dancing to screeches to a halt. I’m on the first flight home with only three bags. Two weeks, it won’t be as bad right?

Yet we watched helplessly as this house of cards built with wounded hands came crashing down. As the numbers rise, so does the fear. I see it in our eyes, stark against mask-covered faces. The world we knew is falling apart, ripping at the seams. We’re all at once, learning to swim again in a sea we no longer know how to cross.

Those in power keep clinging to that long-departed shore of normalcy. Burying their heads in the ground like ostriches as they attempt to give this broken nation a fresh coat of paint: a new normal. Ha! As if the past norm we lived in didn’t allow for this to happen in the first place. The same hands used to steal, now covered in latex. The same mouths used to lie, behind N95’s. All this yet we can’t stop looking. Thank God for this mask then, at least way the world won't see the void behind my eyes.

A month into quarantine, Dad suggested we open a Netflix account for the meantime as an escape from the barrage of emails and Zoom meetings. A window to the outside world we used to roam.

However, in this unending stream of content, I still keep coming back to the movies I watched years ago. I return like a child to his favorite toy, like someone to their old lover. In a cha-cha that never ends: backward, forward, then back again. Why?

I’m caught in a storm with no end in sight. The surge grows and ebbs yet all l I have is this machine for a raft: 13" long, 7 " wide and 3 years old. Every day the watchlist grows as I can’t seem to finish a single title.

So I jump from one to the other.

Until I find myself back to the same

Old

Ones

Are you still watching?

The world is falling apart at your window.

Are you still watching?

Are you?

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind echo the words of my professor. As I stare into this window of glass and plastic, I realize that the Obra Maestra we so seek exists all around us. Somewhere in this dark and unending sea some madman looked at the chaos and birthed from it what our world needs: Beauty! Anger! Emotion! Life!

Maybe that’s why I like watching those same wretched old movies. Because at this moment, in this space between midnight and the dawn, the world is at peace. There’s nothing here, only faint music from my laptop as I watch these people onscreen live the life we once lived.

To fall in love with their best friend after five long years of yearning. To chase after their wish of directing. To dance with their lover in the middle of a closing planetarium as they share a tender kiss.

To do the one thing I can’t do at this moment,

to dream.

That beyond these days there lies a tomorrow filled with glorious possibility. That one day, sometime soon, we would be able to walk in the streets we used to know.

The Greatest Art is born in crisis. The Greatest Change is brought about BY crisis. One day, one of the works birthed by this Gordian knot will be the spark this nation sorely needs.Serving not just as tomes meant to be read by future generations but as a guiding principle.

Till that day comes, I remain here. Staying up all night watching the same movies in-between days of work. Taking in this brief reprieve from the unceasing dirge of news in this crazy world we live in. As I join the chirping birds in greeting the sun slowly basking the world in a pale new light with the same old song, “here’s to the ones who dream!”

ABOUT THE PRIZES

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 Prizes 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.