CALL FOR ENTRIES: AAG x KLFI Essay Writing 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 are encouraged to submit essays that reflect on or discuss the turmoils, 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.

Six (6) winning entries will be selected by a panel of jurors. Writers of the winning entries will receive a monetary prize of Php 5,000. The winning essays will be published by the Ateneo Art Gallery in an exhibition catalog accompanied by images of shortlisted works on the same theme as part of the Marciano Galang Acquisition Prize. Essays will also be published in the Vital Points website, the online platform for art criticism developed by AAG and KLFI.

MECHANICS

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

2. Entries must reflect the theme of the Program. The Program’s theme is “Thoughts and Actions of Our Time: Surmounting the Pandemic.” Keywords are as follows:

a. the "new normal;

b. life in quarantine;

c. initiatives and efforts in raising funds, donations, reaching out

to affected communities;

d. frontliners/medical personnel's efforts;

e. government's/non-government organizations's relief efforts

and response to the crisis;

f. ruminations of a better future

3. A supporting image is optional and not required. Should the writer wish to include one, he/she has the option to include one (1) image to accompany their entry. Writer must seek permission from the copyright owner of the image and person/s represented in the image that this will be published in a printed exhibition catalog and on the Vital Points website, should their entry be selected.

4. Only one original entry is allowed per participant. The essay should not have been published before in any printed or online platform. Any entry that has been submitted for consideration in any other writing contest before 7 September 2020 will be disqualified.

5. Entries may be written in English or Filipino.

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

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

8. The entries will be submitted digitally at https://bit.ly/AAGxKLFI-Submis... by uploading the following file formats with the title of the entry as filename:

a. Entry in Word document format

b. Entry in PDF format

c. OPTIONAL: Accompanying image in high resolution format

9. Deadline for submission of entries will be on 6 September 2020 (Sunday), 11:59PM.

Copyright of the selected entries (including the winners) shall be held by the writers jointly with AAG and KLFI.

QUALIFICATION OF PARTICIPANTS

1. The Program is open to all Filipino citizens who are at least 18 years old and above. Entrants who are 17 years old must be 18 years old by 6 September 2020 to be eligible to participate.
2. Employees, whether full-time or contractual, of the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, and Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc. are not allowed to participate.
3. Bloggers defined as writers of online journals, websites, or whose written work is published in electronic social media may join.
4. To avoid conflict of interest, the participants must not hold an editorial post in any literary journal / publication. Those holding an editorial post in student publications are permitted to join.