Call for Entries: 2026 Ateneo Art Awards - Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism

Co-presented with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., the Ateneo Art Gallery is now accepting submissions for the 2026 Ateneo Art Awards  Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism. On its 13th year, the prize welcomes entries on the theme of “Futurities.”

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 this shortlist, winners will be selected by the editors of partner publications. Read the full mechanics at https://go.ateneo.net/PKL2026Mechanics.

Submit entries at https://go.ateneo.net/PKL2026Entry. Submissions will be accepted until 30 JUNE 2026, Tuesday, 11:59 pm. 

About the theme

“We have been through a war but very few of our painters seem to know it.” In 1950, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma said this when asked by columnist IP Soliongco about her thoughts on genre landscape paintings. The Second World War had ended only five years earlier. 

For us in the present, six years ago marked the first year of facing the global pandemic. Recently, we commemorated the 40th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, which reshaped Philippine governance through collective action. Today, not only in this country but around the world, we continue to face unrest and war, as well as urgent debates about generative AI that unsettle our sense of humanity and more. Alongside persists the effort simply to survive. 

With all these, can we still imagine futurities—a plurality of possible futures—amid what is unfolding in the present? 

Art has long served as humanity’s instrument to imagine. In an undated article, “Art and the Nation,” from PKL Scrapbook Vol. 2 (c. 1950–1952), written in the context of the Art Association of the Philippines fostering art “during times of storm and stress,” the author reflects: 

“It is to [poets and artists] that we turn when everything seems dark. [...] Through their works, whether it is a painting or a poem, they afford the rest of us a glimpse of that beauty and perfection which can only belong to a future world.” 

Perhaps the task today is not to picture beautiful or perfect futurities, but to remain capable of imagining at all.

The Ateneo Art Awards - Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism is co-presented with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., in partnership with The Philippine Star, ArtAsiaPacific, Katipunan: Journal ng mga Pag‑aaral sa Wika, Panitikan, Sining at Kulturang Filipino, Orange Project Naranja Writer’s Residency, The White House Writer’s Residency, and Indeks.

For further inquiries, email pkl.aag@ateneo.edu.