Ateneo Art Awards 2025 is Now Open for Entries
Words Yra Luis Gener Gutierrez
Photos courtesy of Ateneo Art Gallery
March 5, 2025
The Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG), recognized as the first museum of Philippine Modern Art and a hub for creativity and innovation, is now accepting nominations for the Ateneo Art Awards 2025. This includes the Fernando Zobel Prizes for Visual Art (FZA) and the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism (PKL).
Founded in 2004, the Ateneo Art Awards (AAA) has become one of the most prestigious contemporary art prizes, nurturing the talent and creativity of emerging visual artists and writers in the Philippines.
Fernando Zobel Prizes For Visual Art
This prize offers a unique opportunity for young Filipino visual artists under the age of 36, aiming to highlight contemporary art practices and works that contribute to the growth of the Philippine cultural landscape.
The Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) defines visual art to include paintings, drawings, original fine prints, photographs, sculptures, assemblages, installations, performance art, and media-based works such as sound, film, video, computer art, and other technological forms.
The prize will be awarded to four artists selected from a shortlist of 12. The winners will be eligible to participate in both local and international residency grants funded by AAG, in collaboration with partner art communities across the Philippines and around the world.
Currently, the Fernando Zobel Prizes for Visual Art (FZA) operates as a biennial program, with two exhibition cycles: May 2023-2024 and May 2024-2025. Nominations for this prize will close on Saturday, May 31, 2025.
Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes In Art Criticism
In 2014, the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) and the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, in partnership with The Philippine STAR, established the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism. This award provides a platform for Filipino writers to critically engage with Philippine art, reflect on the present cultural moment, and shape public taste.
Now in its 12th year, the prize invites writers to explore the theme of “Flight.” According to the AAG, flight is often associated with the physical act of being airborne. It can symbolize ambition, freedom, escape, or transcendence.”
The gallery further posed, “Flight is a symbol of transit. Where are we headed next? Where is the art world headed? And where is art criticism headed?”
The prize is divided into two categories: Filipino and English, with six writers shortlisted for each. Two winners will be selected from the English category, and one winner from the Filipino category.
On November 24, 2024, the AAG announced the winners of the PKL Prize in Art Criticism. Lev Masuli was awarded for his essay, “All That Is Useful Lends Itself to Waste: Inside Jose Olarte’s Gyre Dominion,” published in The Philippine STAR.
Meanwhile in the English category, Chesca Santiago received the prize for her essay, “Against Community as Moral Currency,” featured in ArtAsiaPacific. In the Filipino category, Ryan Cezar O. Alcarde won for his essay, "Line of Sight: Ilang tanaw sa paggawa ng sining sa mga laylayan ng lunsod," published in Katipunan Journal.
