Deadline: 30 June 2024
The Ateneo Art Gallery and the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., now welcomes entries on the theme of ‘Fluctuation’ for the 11th year of the Ateneo Art Awards Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism.
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.”
Prompted by Kalaw-Ledesma’s perception of fluctuation as a realm of possibility, they 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 the local residency partners. The residency will give the winning writer an opportunity to immerse and interact with the local art community.
Eligibility Criteria
- 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.
For more information, visit Ateneo Art Gallery.
