Ateneo Art Awards 2019 Winners Announced

Keb Cerda, Archie Oclos and Costantino Zicarelli emerged as the three (3) winners of the Ateneo Art Awards 2019 – Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art. From a shortlist of twelve (12), the three were selected by seven jurors after the final deliberations held before the official opening of the Ateneo Art Awards 2019 exhibition. The Ateneo Art Gallery announced the winners during the awarding ceremony held last August 18, Sunday at the Suthira B Zalamea lobby of Areté.

Keb Cerda was nominated for his solo exhibition, Super Nardo: False Profits, which was originally held at Untitled, Art in San Francisco, USA. A parody of the game Super Mario, Cerda integrates new media and AR (augmented reality) into his works by developing his own mobile game and hand-painted settings to present viewers an interpretation of the financial industry and its dynamics. Cerda receives the Liverpool Hope University artist residency grant in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

L-R: Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, Vice President for the Loyola Schools; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, President of Ateneo de Manila University; Keb Cerda, Ateneo Art Awards 2019 - Fernando Zóbel Prize Winner and Recipient of the Liverpool Hope University Artist Residency Grant in United Kingdom; Fr. Jason Dy SJ, visual artist and lecturer

For his murals, Archie Oclos was awarded as winner and recipient of the Artesan Gallery + Studio artist residency grant in Singapore. He received nomination for his work titled Lupang Hinirang in the 2018 Thirteen Artists Awards at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Lupang Hinirang depicts the social injustices and oppression brought about by the government’s war on drugs. Oclos was also declared as top artist in the People’s Choice poll after garnering 15.3% from the total 354 votes from the Shangri-la Plaza and AAG exhibitions. He receives Php 15,000 worth of art supplies from Artline, Pebeo, and Derwent.

L-R: Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, Vice President for the Loyola Schools; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University; Ambassador Gerard Ho Wei Hong of the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Manila; Archie Oclos, Ateneo Art Awards 2019 - Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art Winner and Recipient of the Artesan Gallery+Studio Artist Residency Grant in Singapore

L-R: Debbie Tan, AAG Advisory Council; Dr. Mercedes Rodrigo, Executive Director of Areté; Archie Oclos, People's Choice Winner; Jackville Tan, Times Trading Inc. Senior Brand Manager; Jay Ferrer, Times Trading Inc. Sales Manager

After winning two years ago, Costantino Zicarelli receives again the Fernando Zóbel Prize for Visual Art for his solo exhibition, Years of Dust Will Build a Mountain at Artinformal, Makati. Zicarelli previously won in 2017 and was awarded a residency grant at Liverpool Hope University. In his recent exhibition, Zicarelli continues to explore his creative practice in different forms, from graphite-rendered illustrations to the use of glass and other found objects for his installations. This year, Zicarelli was chosen as the recipient of the La Trobe University artist residency grant in Bendigo, Australia.

L-R: Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, Vice President for the Loyola Schools; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University; Costantino Zicarelli, Ateneo Art Awards 2019 – Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art Winner and Recipient of the La Trobe University Artist Residency Grant in Bendigo, Australia ; Ambassador Steven Robinson of the Australian Embassy in the Philippines

In 2018, the Ateneo Art Gallery partnered with the Embassy of Italy to help it in its program to compile a collection of Philippine contemporary art for its offices and the Ambassador’s official residence. This partnership also offers a new incentive prize for the Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art category. This year, Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino selected Doktor Karayom as the recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards 2019 - Embassy of Italy Purchase Prize. First shortlisted in 2017, he was again nominated for his interactive installation titled Isla Inip in the 2018 Thirteen Artists Awards group exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. An anagram for Pilipinas, Isla Inip is Karayom’s sarcastic commentary on the struggles of the nation and the Filipino’s innovative ways of surviving daily life.

L-R: Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino of the Embassy of Italy; Doktor Karayom, Recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards 2019 - Embassy of Italy Purchase Prize; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University

L-R: Janina Gwen Bautista, John Alexis Balaguer, Mariah Reodica, Jeckree Mission

For the Ateneo Art Awards 2019 - Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism, John Alexis Balaguer and Mariah Reodica were declared winners from the four (4) shortlisted writers. The recipient of the Purita-Kalaw Ledesma Prize – The Philippine Star is Mariah Reodica for her entry, Saltwater Trajectories: Bisan Tubig Di Magbalon, and Viva Excon as Cartographer. She will be contributing to The Philippine Star twice a month or 24 articles in a year for the publication’s Arts & Culture section.

L-R: Igan D’Bayan, Assistant Editor for Lifestyle Section of The Philippine Star; Ada Ledesma-Mabilangan, President of the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc.; Mariah Reodica, Winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism – The Philippine Star; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University; Amaya Fuentes-Milani, Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines

John Alexis Balaguer on the other hand takes the Purita-Kalaw Ledesma Prize – ArtAsiaPacific Magazine for his essay, Everywhere is Here: The Museum as Heterotopia in Mark Lewis Higgins’ Gold in Our Veins. Balaguer will be writing a total of six (6) articles for a year in the said bi-monthly publication.

L-R: Igan D’Bayan, Assistant Editor for Lifestyle Section of The Philippine Star; Ada Ledesma-Mabilangan, President of the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc.; Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University; Amaya Fuentes-Milani, Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines; John Alexis Balaguer, Winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism – ArtAsiaPacific Magazine

Both Balaguer and Reodica will also contribute to the 9^th edition of Perro Berde, an annual publication of the Embassy of Spain and Instituto Cervantes, that provides Spanish and Filipino artists, writers and researchers a venue for interaction and cultural dialogue.

The Ateneo Art Awards 2019 exhibit at the Ateneo Art Gallery runs until 23 October 2019 at the third floor of the museum. The Ateneo Art Awards is co-presented by Ateneo Art Gallery, Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc., Shangri-la Plaza,The Philippine Star, and Areté; In partnership with ArtAsiaPacific Magazine, Artesan Gallery + Studio, La Trobe University, Liverpool Hope University, Metro Society, YStyle, the Embassy of Italy and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippones; With support from Artline, Pebeo, Lamy, Derwent and Rain or Shine.

Featured image:

Ateneo Art Awards 2019 – Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art Shortlisted Artists together with Jurors

First Row (L-R): Ernelea Cao, mother of shortlisted artist Lesley-Anne Cao; Krista Nogueras; Jel Suarez; Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwangan

Second Row (L-R): Ronyel Compra, Keb Cerda, JC Jacinto, Lilianna Manahan

Third Row (L-R): Dean Gerry Torres, Juror and Director of the Center for Campus Art at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde; Virgilio Aviado, Juror and Visual Artist; Doktor Karayom; Archie Oclos; Costantino Zicarelli; Juan Alcazaren, Juror and Visual Artist; Ma. Victoria Herrera, Juror and Director and Chief Curator of Ateneo Art Gallery; Tina Fernandez of Artinformal to represent shortlisted artist Zean Cabangis