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

  1. 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.
  2. Must be based in the Philippines.
  3. 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.
  4. Bloggers defined as writers of online journals, websites, or whose written work is published in electronic social media may join.
  5. Past winners of the PKL Prize are not eligible to participate.
  6. Writers who have been shortlisted in the past for the PKL Prize may still submit an entry.

MECHANICS FOR ENTRIES

  1. Entries should be essays with no more than 1,000 words.
  2. 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.
  3. The entry must be written on A4-sized paper. The font should be Arial, Times New Roman, or Book Antiqua, font size 12.
  4. Entries must be submitted digitally as both Word and PDF file attachments with no indication of the identity of the writer on the documents.
  5. Only one original entry is allowed per participant.
    1. The essay should not have been published before on any printed or online platform.
    2. Any entry that has been submitted for consideration in any other writing contest before 30 November 2024 will be disqualified.
  6. 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:
    1. Entry in Word document format (ex. Dela Cruz - Essay Title.docx)
    2. Entry in PDF format (ex. Dela Cruz - Essay Title.pdf)
  7. The deadline for submission of entries will be on 30 June 2024 (Sunday), 11:59 PM.
  8. 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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Pamimintana

May sakit ako sa puso. Araw-araw, umiinom ako ng isang tabletang aspirin. Pampalabnaw ito ng dugo at pang-iwas atake. Habambuhay ko na raw itong kailangan inumin sabi ng doktor.

Mahina ang resistensiya ko kaysa karaniwang tao. Mataas ang dosage ko ng vitamin C at limang taon na akong nakareseta ng antibiotics. Ako at ang aking mga anak ay hindi maaaring lumabas ngayong naka-lockdown ang buong Maynila. Simula Marso, tinatanaw ko lang ang paligid mula sa bintana ng aming bahay. Nagsawa na kasi ako sa pagliligpit sa bahay, gayundin ang panonood sa telebisyon. Hirap din akong makatapos ng libro, ilang pahina pa lamang ay tinatamad na ako.

Tuwing alas-kuwatro ng hapon ako nagmamasid mula sa bintanang de-rehas. Ilang dipa ang itinaas nito mula sa sahig ng bahay at nasa isang gilid lamang ng pader ng kuwarto. Hindi na kainitan at marami nang naglalakad sa kalye ng ganoong oras. May bumibili ng meryenda o pang-hapunan. Ilang sandali pa’t magdaraan na ang mga pauwing empleyado na nakikilala batay sa uniporme. Mula sa Mercury Drugstore, sa isang malapit na Savemore at ospital. Gayundin ang security guard, ang buntis na laging naka-leggings at mga babaeng de-service ng motor sa Generics Pharmacy. Maging ‘yung naka-motor na lalaking umaalalay sa isang babaeng naka-electric scooter. Hindi lahat ay naka-face mask o face shield. May ibang naka-mask nga ngunit nakalabas ang ilong o nasa ilalim ng kanilang baba. Maraming may makeshift mask, bandana, t-shirt, o panyo. Basta’t may maitakip sa kanilang mukha.

May mga aso palang pagala-gala sa tapat ng bahay, mula hapon hanggang gabi. Bukas ang pandesalan nang kalahating araw lamang noong unang buwan ng lockdown at ngayong GCQ ay hanggang gabi na rin. Nag-usbungan ang mga tindahan ng itlog, prutas, gulay at karne sa mga dating talyer, car wash at laundry stalls. Ang hardware na noong simula ng lockdown ay sarado sa hapon, bukas na hanggang alas-singko, maging araw man ng Linggo. Higit na lumakas ang isang tindahan ng pizza sa delivery dahil nagsara noong Marso hanggang Mayo ang sikat na Shakey’s at Pizza Hut. Napansin kong may mga dyip na rin ngayon, bagamat mangilan-ngilan lamang ang bumabiyahe.

Araw-araw, hindi bababa sa limang beses ang pagdaan ng ambulansiya sa kalye namin. Hudyat ng pagsundo sa mga pasyente sa iba't ibang lugar. Noong una’y malakas pa ang kabog ng dibdib ko sa tunog na ito. Matapos ang limang buwan, sanay na kaming marinig ang sirena. Minsan nakita ko pang pumasok ang dalawang magkasunod na ambulansiya sa iisang daan lamang. Baka isang pamilya ang na-impeksiyon.

Sa oras na umulan, umaga man o gabi, mas nakawiwiling mamintana. Nandiyan ang nagmamadaling sumilong sa mga nakabukas na tindahan o malalaking payong ng tindero ng gulay sa kariton. Magpaparadahan ang mga motor at kukunin ng mga rider ang kanilang raincoat o jacket na pananggalang sa biglang buhos. May ilang batang lumalabas din at panandaliang magtatampisaw sa ulan. Libang na libang ako sa mga sasakyang dumaraan sa kalyeng basa at nagpapatilamsik ng tubig sa bangketa. Nakaaaliw bantayan ang kanilang mga headlight na tumatama sa buhos ng ulan. Kinabukasan, gigising akong mas kaunti ang dumi at alikabok sa daan.

Nakakausap ko naman at nakikita sa video call ang ilang kaibigan. Nagkukuwento sila ng mga karanasan sa paglabas ng bahay. Naiinggit ako kung minsan, gusto ko rin kasing lumabas. Nakakasawang makita ang mga pader ng bahay, kapag natapos mo na ang paulit-ulit na linis, luto at laba. Minsan, gusto mo ring may magawang kakaiba.

Ito ang taon na babalik sana ako sa fulltime na trabaho. Hindi ako nakapasok noong nakaraan dahil sa aking sakit. Ngayon sana mas maayos na ang aking pakiramdam at bihira nang sumakit ang dibdib. Puwede na sana akong humanap ng opisina sa hindi kalayuan ngunit naudlot ang aking plano. Work from home rin sana ngunit hindi pa pinapalad na matanggap.

Maaari sana akong lumabas dahil hindi halata ang aking karamdaman, ngunit may pangamba akong subukan ang tadhana. Kabado akong makipagsabayan sa labas. Traydor ang virus. Maaaring makasalubong ko ito, makasabay sa paglakad, makatabi sa pila. Puwede ring mahawakan sa pader, dyip, tela, bakal, at papel. Baka ito rin ang bumati sa akin ng magandang umaga, kumuha ng bayad at mag-abot ng sukli o di kaya’y magmagandang loob na magbukas ng pinto o magsara.

Takot din ako sa gastos. May kakilala akong nagka-Covid ang kaniyang ama. Ang laking hirap at gastos ng pamilya nila habang umaasang gagaling, gayong pumanaw rin ang pasyente. Hindi na kasi ito sagot ng gobyerno ngayon. Ubos na daw ang pera ng bayan lalo na’t matapos nakawin ng mga opisyales sa Philhealth.

Nag-aalala akong magkasakit, ma-ospital at baka hindi gumaling dahil sa aking mahinang puso. Kung maiiwan ang aking mga anak, baka hindi sila paghigpitan o disiplinahin nang tama at hindi lumaking maayos. Hindi naman nangangahulugan na siguradong maayos ang aking pagpapalaki, pero pipilitin ko. Tuturuan ko pa silang mag-ayos at magligpit ng sariling kuwarto kung sakaling magkaroon sila ng hiwalay na espasyo. Maiiwan ko ang aking asawa na nangangarap bumukod sa pamilya at ngayo'y unti-unting nauubos ang mga kamag-anak at kaibigan dahil sa pangingibang bansa, bukod pa sa pagkamatay dahil sa Covid.

Mula sa bintana, gagawan ko muna ng kuwento ang aking mga nakikita. Mula dito, lalanghapin ko muna ang hanging matagal ko nang gustong muling bumalot sa akin mula ulo hanggang paa. Dito rin aabutin ng aking mga kamay ang patak ng ulan dahil hindi pa makapagtampisaw. Pati ang sinag ng araw na pilit sinisipat sa pagitan ng mga kurtina.

Hindi na ako gagaling sa aking karamdaman. Umiiwas lang ako sa mga bawal upang hindi lumubha pa. Hanggang hindi natatapos ang pandemyang ito, hindi siguro ako makalalabas ng bahay. Nakalulungkot isipin ang ganitong sitwasyon. Hindi ko kayang sabihin kung sa susunod na taon ay namimintana pa rin ako. Ngunit nagpapasalamat ako sa kakayanang makatanaw sa labas. Limitado man ang aking mundo, ang limitasyong ito ay isang malaking kaginhawaan na hindi nararanasan ng mas salat sa aking wala man lang bintana sa kanilang tahanan.


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.

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Fabian dela Rosa, Portrait of Purita Kalaw-Ledesma, Oil on Canvas | 1932