Ateneo Art Awards 2024 Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism | Writer's Focus

The Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) presents the 21st Ateneo Art Awards (AAA), featuring eight (8) shortlisted writers for the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma (PKL) Prizes in Art Criticism, and four (4) return artists for the Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art Return Exhibition.

The 2024 AAA - PKL Prizes in Art Criticism, co-presented with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., centers on the theme of “Fluctuation,” referencing the 1974 book The Struggle for Philippine Art wherein Kalaw-Ledesma and Amadis Ma. Guerrero described the Philippine art scene at the time as "a fluctuating, flexible and wide-open field." Prompted by Kalaw-Ledesma’s perception of fluctuation as a realm of possibility, entries are anchored as criticism about artists, art works, exhibitions, projects, practices, or events that take a cue from irregular and unexpectable changes.

There are a total of eight (8) shortlisted writers for this cycle: six (6) for the English category, and two (2) for the Filipino category:

English Category
Justin Andrew Cruzana - Charlie’s Demons
Elio Garcia - In the Shadow of Language
Jodie Jose - Non-Objects and Magic-Activating Hotspots
Levi Masuli - All That Is Useful Lends Itself to Waste: Inside Jon Olarte’s Gyre Dominion
Jael Mendoza - On Hauntings and Intimacies
Chesca Santiago - Against Community as Moral Currency

Filipino Category
Ryan Cezar O. Alcarde - Line of sight: Ilang tanaw sa paggawa ng sining sa mga laylayan ng lunsod
John E. Barrios - "Iisang Bangka Tayo": Sining at Propaganda sa Panahon ng Pandemya

From the English category, Levi Masuli bags the PKL Prize in Art Criticism for The Philippine Star with his essay “All That Is Useful Lends Itself to Waste: Inside Jose Olarte’s Gyre Dominion.” Masuli will be awarded a monthly column for a year under ‘Platforms’ in the Arts and Culture section of The Philippine Star.

Chesca Santiago was selected for the PKL Prize in Art Criticism for ArtAsiaPacific, with her essay “Against Community as Moral Currency.” Santiago will be given the opportunity to contribute six (6) articles to the bimonthly Hong Kong-based publication for a year. She is also the recipient of a month-long writer’s residency at Orange Project Naranja Residency.

Ryan Cezar O. Alcarde from the Filipino category was awarded the PKL Prize for Art Criticism for the Katipunan Journal for his essay “Line of sight: Ilang tanaw sa paggawa ng sining sa mga laylayan ng lunsod.” Alcarde will have the chance to contribute a total of two (2) articles to the bi-annual research publication for a year.

The Ateneo Art Gallery also welcomes The White House, Ateneo Art Awards’ new Writer’s Residency Partner who have selected Masuli and Alcarde as its first recipients for the month-long writer’s residency located in San Antonio, Zambales.

All Shortlisted Essays are available for browsing at the Vital Points Microsite at https://pkl.ateneoartgallery.com.

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