Meet the shortlisted artists and writers for the Ateneo Art Awards 2025

Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) presents the twelve Shortlisted Artists and ten Shortlisted Writers for the Ateneo Art Awards 2025 (AAA) Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art and Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism, announced last 19 August, Wednesday at the Grand Atrium, Shangri-La Plaza. 

A preview of the exhibition runs until 25 August 2025 at the Grand Atrium, where guests can view a selection of artworks from the shortlisted exhibitions and read the complete shortlisted essays. The full exhibition will be on view at the third-floor galleries of the Ateneo Art Gallery from 5 September to 7 December 2025.

ATENEO ART AWARDS 2025 – PURITA KALAW-LEDESMA PRIZES IN ART CRITICISM

Co-presented with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc. and The Philippine Star, the 12th edition of the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism accepted entries on the theme Flight. Submitted entries for the English and Filipino categories were shortlisted. Two winners will be selected for the English category by The Philippine Star and ArtAsiaPacific, and one winner from the Filipino category by Katipunan Journal. 

Winning writers will be contributing to Publication Partners’ respective platforms and will be eligible for month-long residencies with Orange Project Naranja Residency (Bacolod, Negros Occidental), The White House (San Antonio, Zambales) and new residency partner Indeks (Bandung, Indonesia).

The ten (10) Shortlisted Writers for the 2025 Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism are:

English Category

• Bea Belen-Ferrer - In Between Flight and Fallout: What Would Postwar Modernists Do?
• Abigail Buendia - When the City Catches Fire: In Defense of Carla Gamalinda's Open City
• Pie Tiausas - The internet is a space for the lonely
• Tyra Maria Trono - Wings for 99 Pesos: On the Sentimental Weight of Dollar-Store Objects and the Imagination of Flight
• Denzel Yorong - Martino Abellana and the myth of legacy

Filipino Category

• Mavs Alviar - Through the Fire: Kung masasaksihan mo lang ang mundo at ang ningning ng mga alipato mula sa ilalim ng mga basket at banig
• Emersan Baldemor - Hindi Lahat ng Umaangat ay Naaalala: Si Tandang Ano at ang Politikang Estetiko ng Paglimot
• Eric Jhon Bituin - Mga Paang Namumugto: Sining, Pandemya, at ang Lumalakad sa Gilid ng Daan
• Josh Paradeza - Ang Tuloy-tuloy na Pagpapalagay sa Winala, Nawawala, Nawalan ni Ides Macapanpan
• MJ Rafal - Ang Lipad at Liyab sa A Sea on Fire II ni Joar Songcuya

ATENEO ART AWARDS 2025 – FERNANDO ZOBEL PRIZES FOR VISUAL ART

Now a biennial program, a shortlist of twelve Filipino contemporary artists have been selected for this year’s Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art. Nominations cover exhibitions held within two exhibition cycles from May 2023 to 2025, with the artists under the age of 36 during the show’s run. 

Four winners will be selected out of the twelve Shortlisted Artists, and will be eligible for local and foreign residency grants funded by the Ateneo Art Gallery, in partnership with artist communities and residency partners. This includes ABungalow (Talisay, Negros Occidental), CASA San Miguel (San Antonio, Zambales), La Trobe University - La Trobe Art Institute (Bendigo, Australia), Liverpool Hope University (Liverpool, United Kingdom), OCAD University (Ontario, Canada), Project Space Pilipinas (Lucban, Quezon Province), and new residency partners Koganecho Area Management Center (Yokohama, Japan) and Monsoon Southeast Asia (Singapore).

Partner hosts select the recipient of the residency grant, and winning artists may also be selected by more than one residency host. One Shortlisted Artist will also be selected as recipient of the Embassy of Italy Purchase Prize.

The twelve (12) Shortlisted Artists for the 2025 Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art, in alphabetical order, are:

• Lesley-Anne Cao - If time is an arrow, what is its target (Underground, 6 December 2023–10 January 2024)
• Uri de Ger - Beauty is in the Eye of the Colonizer (KalawakanSpacetime, 27 October–30 November 2024)
• Lui Gonzales - A Tree Is A Seed As It Falls (Kaida Contemporary, 2–21 March 2025)
• Silke Lapina - Bakit Pa (Edoweird, 1–28 March 2025)
• Celline Marge Mercado - Between the Lines (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) School of Art, Melbourne, Australia, 21 June 2024)
• Hannah Reyes Morales - Home Holds Still (Tarzeer Pictures, 16 November 2024-–30 January 2025)
• Veronica Peralejo - A Tiny Ball of Mud (West Gallery, 29 February–30 March 2024)
• Issay Rodriguez - gathering, collecting, ongoingness (MO_Space, 29 April–28 May 2023)
• Eunice Sanchez - Sa Ilog Nagtatagpo (West Gallery, 14 September–14 October 2023)
• Jel Suarez - As I Lift One Stone (Blanc Gallery, 9–30 November 2024)
• Vien Valencia - Totems (West Gallery, 18 July–17 August 2024)
• Jezzel Wee - to weigh seeds, pulling through (Gravity Art Space, 30 June–29 July 2023)

Winning artists and writers will be announced during the Awarding Ceremony, to be held on 5 October 2025, Sunday, 2pm at the Ateneo Art Gallery. Visitors may cast a vote for their favorite exhibition through the People’s Choice Poll through the entire run of the exhibition, with the top pick artist to be announced after the show closes on 7 December 2025.

The Ateneo Art Awards 2025 is co-presented by Ateneo Art Gallery, Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation Inc., and The Philippine Star; in partnership with ArtAsiaPacific, Katipunan Journal, and the Embassy of Italy in the Philippines; venue partner Shangri-La Plaza; residency partners ABungalow (Talisay, Negros Occidental), CASA San Miguel (San Antonio, Zambales), Indeks (Bandung, Indonesia), Koganecho Area Management Center (Yokohama, Japan), La Trobe University - La Trobe Art Institute (Bendigo, Australia), Liverpool Hope University (Liverpool, United Kingdom), Monsoon Southeast Asia (Singapore), No Space (Baguio, Benguet), OCAD University (Ontario, Canada), Orange Project Naranja Residency (Bacolod, Negros Occidental), Project Space Pilipinas (Lucban, Quezon Province) and The White House (San Antonio, Zambales).

The Ateneo Art Gallery is open Mondays to Saturdays from 9:00 am–5:00 pm, and on every first and third Sunday of the month, from 9:00 am–4:00 pm. The museum is closed on regular and University holidays. Regular announcements on AAG’s schedule, public programs, and exhibitions can be followed through Facebook and Instagram at @ateneoartgallery.