Contemporary Philippine Arts

from Regions
Quarter 1 – Module 3:

Philippine
Contemporary
Artist 1
 The Filipina Artist
Women artist have become visible because of the
initial stepsof three women graphic artists in the
1970s and 1980s. Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Brenda V.
Fajardo, and Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi. They have
entered the art scene and changed the landscape
from then on. They have started as printmakers
but later evolved their own genres, except for
France-based Gelveson-Tequi, who remained as
printmaker and a painter. Her latest work is a
series of Philippine madonnas.
Brenda Fajardo, a doctor in the Philippine
Studies and Professor Emerita in the University5

of the Philippines, is a multi-awarded artist,

Among her national and international awards and
grants are the 2012 Gawad CCP para sa Sining
Biswal and the CCP Centennial Honors for the
Arts in 1999. Her nationalistic themes are taken
from Philippine Folklore, legends, and mythology.
She then relates them to contemporary life. Her
works are mostly in pen and ink acrylic.

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 National Artists of the Philippines
The Order of National Artists has been established
by virtue of the Presidential Proclamation No. 1001’s
1972 and aims to give appropriate recognition and
prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished
themselves and made outstanding contributions to
Philippine arts and letters. It is the highest award
conferred by the President of the Philippines to the
nation’s artists. The categories for the Order of
National Artists are music, dance, theatre, visual arts,
literature, film and broadcast arts and architecture or
allied arts.
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 conferred by the President of the Philippines every
three years. Cultural organizations, educational
institutions and private foundations and councils may
submit nominations for the Order once the Secretariat
announces the opening for nominations. The
Secretariat then screens and deliberates these
nominations before submitting a list of recommended
nominees to the President. After this, the President
will decide the final list of awardees and will then
issue proclamation, conferring the rank and title on
the awardees.

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 Recipient and representatives of the Order of National Artist with
President Benigno “Nonynoy” Aquino during the 2012 conferment ceremony Photo courtesy of the NCCA-PAIO.

To qualify the National Artists must have the following criteria

[Link] artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination as well
as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were
Filipino citizens at the time of their death.
[Link] who, through the content ad form of their works, have
contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood.
[Link] who have pioneered in a mode of creative
expression or style thus earning distinction and making
an impact on succeeding generations of artists.

[Link] who have created a substantial and significant

body of work and/or consistently displayed excellence
in the practice of their art form, thus enriching artistic
expressions or style; and

[Link] who enjoy broad acceptance through—

[Link] national and/ or international recognition
such as the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artist
Award and NCCA Alab ng Haraya.
[Link] acclaim and/ or reviews of their works.
[Link] and esteem from peers.
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The first Order then was National Artist Award was
given in 1972 and the lone awardee was realist
painter Fernando Amorsolo. The next year, seven
artists were bestowed the prestigious award; Carlos
Botong Francisco for visual arts; Francisca R.
Aquino for dance; Amado V. Hernandez for
literature; Antonio J. Molina for music; Juan F.
Nakpil for architecture; Guillermo E. Tolentino for
sculpture; and Jose Garcia Villa for literature.

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 Below is the list of National Artist (1973-2018 an their most known
works. The list divided per category.

VISUAL ARTS
Awardee Date of Popular Works
Award

Cesar F. Legaspi (+) 1990 Morning Dance, Tree Planting, Man and
Woman
Hernando R. Ocampo (+ 1991 Man, and Carabao, Ina ng Ibon
+)
Arturo R. Luz 1997 Candle Vendors, Bagong Taon, Cities of the
Past
Ang Kiukok (+) 2001 Angry Figure, Fighting Figures, Crucifixion
Abdulmari Asia Imao 2006 Sarimanok painting and Sculptures
Benedicto R. Cabrera 2006 Sabel in Blue, Yello Confeti, The Oriental Fan
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz 2009 Tres Marias, Rveries of Lov, Still Life with
(++) Landscape
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Francisco V. Coching (+ 2014 Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko, Lapu-

 PAINTING
Awardee Date of Popular Works
Award
Fernando C. Amorsolo 1972 Planting Rice, Fruit Gatherer, Under the
(++) Mango Tree
Carlos V. Francisco (+ 1973 Planting of the First Cross, Filipino
+) Struggles through the years (at the Manila
City Hall) First Mass at Limasawa
Victorio C. Edades (+) 1976 The Builders, The Sketch, the Wrestlers

Vicente S. Manansala 1981 Cubist paintings, Bayanihan, Luksong

(++) Tinik, Stations of the Cross (at the UP
Chapel)
J. Elizalde Navarro (+ 1999 Passengers on to Cathedral Station, The
+) Frog Dance, The Ilongot War Dance
Jose T. Joya (++) 2003 Abstract paintings; Hills of Nikko,
GRanadean Arabeque, Dimension of Fear
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 GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN (GAMABA)

The Philippines also honors artist who are engaged in folk

or traditional arts and who have reached a high level of
technical skill and artistic excellence. The award is called
the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) Or National
Living Treasures Award.
The categories for GAMABA are folk architecture,
maritime transport, weaving, carving, performing arts,
literature, graphic and plastic arts ornament, textile or fiber
art, pottery, and other artistic expressions of traditional
culture.
This award was institutionalized by 1992 Republic Act
No. 7355, with the NCCA in charge of its implementation.
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 ng Bayan is like that of the Order of the National Artists.
However, only NCCA’s ad hoc panel of experts and
reviewers will screen and review the nominations. They will
then, submit the list to the President of the Philippines for
proclamation.

Like the National Artists, an artist must have special

qualities to become a Manlilikha ng Bayan. Below are the
Criteria.
1. The artist should be an inhabitant of an
indigenous/traditional, cultural community anywhere in
the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs,
beliefs, rituals, and tradition and or has syncretized
whatever external elements that have influenced it.
2. The artist must have engaged in a folk-art tradition that
has been existence and documented for at least fifty years.
3. The artist must have consistently performed or produced
works of superior and distinctive quality over a
significant period.
[Link] artist must possess a mastery of tools and materials
needed by the art and must have an established
reputation in the art as master and maker of works of
extraordinary technical quality.
[Link] artist must have passed on and or will pass on to
other members of the community his/her skills in the folk
art for which the community is traditionally known.
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 A traditional artist who possesses all the qualities of a
Manlilikha ng Bayan candidate but is now incapable of
teaching further his/her craft, may still recognized given
the following.

[Link] artist has created a significant body of work and

or/has consistently displayed excellence in the practice
of his/her art, thus achieving important contributions
for its development.
[Link] artist has been instrumental in the revitalization of
his/her community artistic tradition.
[Link] artist has passed on to the other members of the
community the skills in the
folk art for which the community is traditional known.
[Link] community of the artist has recognized him/her as
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 The first group of recognized Manlilikha ng Bayan was
composed of Ginaw Bilog of Oriental Mindoro, A Hanunuo
Mangyan poet; Masino Intaray of Brookes Point, Palawan,
an epic chanter, and a master of various traditional
instruments, Samaon, Sulaiman of Mamasapano,
Maguindanao, a kutyapi master.

Below is the list of Manlilikha ng Bayan from 1993 to 2012.

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World-class Artists
The Philippine contemporary arts have so developed and
matured that our artists can now stand proudly on the
world stage.
El Gamma Penumbra - a shadow play group of young locals
from Tanauan, Batangas. The group won first place in the
first television production of Asia’s Got talent in Singapore
in May 2015. They have conquered the hearts not only of
 In visual arts, the Filipinos have also made a big
scene. Once again, the Philippines is participating in
the Venice Biennale after fifty-one years of absence.
The Venice Biennale is a prestigious international art
exhibition that started in 1895. One of its aims is to
showcase the latest work of art from different nations.

Patrick Flores - professor of Art Studies and curator

of the Vargas Museum of the University of the
Philippines, was chosen to curate the Philippine
Pavilion. He named the exhibit “Tie a String around the
World”. Representing the Philippines are artists Jose
Tence Ruiz, Manny Montellano, Gus Albor, Lito
Carating and Jing Turalba. It is wonderful to know
that Philippine Pavilion has been named in the best list
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 Cecil Licad – among the first contemporary artists to be
acclaimed internationally is a gifted classical pianist. As
a child prodigy, she made her debut at the age of seven
as soloist with the Philippine Harmonic Orchestra. She
was also one of the youngest musicians to receive the
prestigious Leventritt Competition Gold Medal in 1981.

Lea Salonga - one of several hundred Asian aspirants to

be chosen for the role of Kim in the 1989 musical Miss
Saigon in London and later in Broadway for which she
received a Tony Award. The Tony award is
Broadways equivalent to Hollywood’s Academy Award,
or Oscars. She also performed as Fantine and Eponine in
another hit musical, Les Miserables; as singing voice of
both Mulan in the Disney movie Mulan; and Princess 37
 Lisa Macuja-Elizalde - the country’s first prima ballerina
is the first foreign soloist to join Kirov Ballet, a famous
Russian ballet company. She has won several awards
both national and foreign- for her recitals. One of these
awards is a spot in 1997 Ten Outstanding Young Persons
of the World in the USA. She was also given the Order of
International Friendship by Russian President Vladimir
Putin in 2001.

Charice Pempengco (a.k.a Jake Zyrus) - became famous

when Ellen Degeneres discovered her on You Tube a few
years ago. After a short stint in the United States, she
has returned and is now a popular recording artist.
Philippine arts today are active and vibrant because of
the Filipino artist’ talent, creativity, skill and their
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