Ateneo Art Awards 2022: Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism Winning Writers and Return Exhibition Launch

Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) announced the winners of this year’s Purita Kalaw-Ledesma (PKL) Prizes in Art Criticism. The awarding ceremony was held last November 19, 2022, Saturday, at the Ben Chan ArtSuite, Ateneo Art Gallery, Soledad V Pangilinan Arts Wing, Areté. 

This year’s call for entries was on the theme “Fresh Winds and New Light: Forecasting Change”. Submissions included 29 entries in the English category and eight entries in the Filipino category. These were then shortlisted to six entries in English and four entries in Filipino before the selection of winners. 

Two winners were selected from the English category. The winning writer for the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism for ArtAsiaPacific Magazine is Dondie Casanova for his essay, “The Forest Fire at the Brutal Beauty: Jinggoy Buensuceso’s KAINGIN.” Casanova will have the opportunity to contribute six articles to the bimonthly Hong Kong-based publication for a year. 

The winner of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for The Philippine Star is Nicole Soriano with her essay entitled “The Insistence of Hope.” Soriano will be awarded a monthly column for a year under ‘Platforms’ in the Arts and Culture section of the Philippine Star. She is also the receipient of a month-long writer’s residency by Ateneo Art Awards residency partner, Orange Project, a creative hub in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.

The winner from the Filipino category who was awarded with the the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for Katipunan Journal is Gian Carlo Delgado for “Mga palagay sa panahon, espasyo, at gunita: Pagturing sa eksibisyong ‘Gintong Liwayway: Sining ng Progresibong Pagbabago’.” Delgado will receive the opportunity to contribute a total of two articles to the bi-annual research publication for a year. 

Trophies were presented to the ten shortlisted writers and to the three winners by Ateneo de Manila University officials – Fr. Roberto C. Yap, President and Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, Vice President for the Loyola Schools; Anna Marie Ozaeta, President of the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc.; Millet Mananquil, Lifestyle Editor and Scott Garceau, Desk Editor of The Philippine Star; Dr. Alvin Yapan, Editor of the Katipunan Journal; and Jovino de Guzman Miroy, Ph.D., Department of Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University. Newly-appointed Ateneo de Manila University Trustee, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng also attended the event.

All shortlisted and winning essays are available on the Vital Points microsite. 

The awarding event held last November 19 also coincided with the opening of the Ateneo Art Awards 2022 Return Exhibition of past winners. The return exhibition has been an integral part of the Ateneo Art Awards program since 2008, offering past winners who have been invited to an overseas art residency a venue to present their recent endeavors. With the newly adopted biennial program for the Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Arts, this exhibition alternates with the visual arts prizes. The Ateneo Art Awards 2022 return exhibition focuses on winners in 2016 and 2017 who were invited to residencies in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Australia. Martha Atienza, Nathalie Dagmang, Gale Encarnacion, Cian Dayrit, and Costantino Zicarelli completed month-long residencies between 2017 and 2018.  

The exhibition is on view at the 3F Fredesvinda Almeda Consunji Gallery, Ambeth R Ocampo Gallery, Elizabeth Gokongwei Gallery, and Alicia P Lorenzo Gallery, Ateneo Art Gallery, Soledad V Pangilinan Arts Wing, and will run until 4 March 2023.

Thumbnail photo: L-R, top to bottom: Dondie Casanova, Winner, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism — ArtAsiaPacific; Vladimeir Gonzales, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Jovino de Guzman Miroy, Ph.D., Department of Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University; Scott Garceau, Desk Editor, The Philippine Star; Kaye O'Yek, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Ma. Victoria "Boots" Herrera, Director and Chief Curator, Ateneo Art Gallery; Anne Marie Ozaeta, President, Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc.; Dr. Alvin Yapan, Editor, Katipunan Journal; Fr. Roberto C. Yap, President, Ateneo de Manila University; Nicole Soriano, Winner, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism — The Philippine Star; Czyka Tumaliuan, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Roy Cagalingan, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Nicole Primero, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Francesca Locsin, Shortlisted Writer, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism; Gian Carlo Delgado, Winner, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism — Katipunan Journal. 

Photos by Clefvan Pornela. Image courtesy of Ateneo Art Gallery.