A performing group, a publication, and twelve individuals (two of which are awarded posthumously) will be conferred the 2020 “Gawad CCP Para sa Sining”.
Considered the highest award by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Gawad CCP Para sa Sining is given to artists (individual or collective), cultural workers, organizations, whose achievements and works have greatly contributed to development and awareness on Philippine arts and culture.
This year’s awardees are:


- Rafael Catalino “Nonoy” Froilan (Dance) – One of the pioneers of Ballet Philippines; a Premiere Danseur, and choreographer.
- Raul M. Sunico (Music) – Filipino pianist, arranger, composer, and teacher. He is an advocate of preserving Philippine music and transcribed numerous Filipino folk songs, kundimans, original compositions, piano arrangements of Philippine songs.
- Felix “Nonon” Padilla (Theater) – Nonon Padilla is one of the most acclaimed and respected figures in contemporary Philippine theater. He is, so far, the only theater practitioner to serve as artistic director of two of the country’s trailblazing theater companies – Philippine Educational Theater Association in the early 1970s and Tanghalang Pilipino which he founded in 1987.
- Luis “Junyee” Yee, Jr. (Visual Arts) – Junyee is a celebrated visual artist known for his massive installations made of found objects, indigenous items, and natural materials.
- Lualhati Bautista (Literature) – Lualhati Bautista is one of the most influential female novelists in the history of contemporary Philippine literature. Her works include the contemporary classics “Dekada ’70”, “Bata, Bata, Pa’no Ka Ginawa?”, “‘GAPÔ”, and “Desaparesidos”. She has won four Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in the 1980s.
- Clodualdo “Doy” del Mundo, Jr. (Film and Broadcast Arts) – A legendary screenwriter who wrote timeless Filipinio films “Maynila… Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag”, “Kisapmata”, “Itim”, “Batch ‘81”, “‘Merika”, “Mulanay”, and “Bayaning 3rd World”. He is also distinguished in the academe where he worked as an educator, author, and started the Communication Arts program of De La Salle University-Manila.
- Cristina Turalba (Architecture) – Cristina Turalba is an architect and environmental planner who advocates for heritage conservation and sustainable construction. She has greatly contributed to heritage-related activities of the United Architects of the Philippines and implemented the NCCA-UAP Documentation of Philippine Heritage Structures and Cultural Sites. Architect Turalba was one of the first Filipino female architects and was a pioneer in the field of architecture.
- Kenneth Cobonpue (Design) – The internationally acclaimed industrial designer is known for his use of natural materials such as rattan, bamboo, and abaca. His furniture creations such as beds, tables, and chairs are sought-after locally and abroad.
- Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) (Culture of its Region) – IPAG is a trailblazer in the establishment of an active theater in the Southern Philippines.
- Nestor Horfilla (Cultural Work and Research) – Nestor Horfilla is a leading cultural advocate who pioneered the establishment of the first-ever Mindanao Community Theater Network in the 1980s together with Karl Gaspar, a developmental and social worker. The network organized numerous community and church-based cultural organizations.
- Danilo Dolor (‘Tanging Parangal’ for the development and support of the arts) – A patron of Philippine culture and arts, Dolor founded The Tribung Pilipino Foundation in 1978, which promotes, preserves, and disseminates traditional Filipino music. He organized several exhibitions of historical media collections including “The Golden Years: Memorable Tagalog Movie Ads 1946-1956,” which showed prominent postwar movie ads, and “Alitaptap Kikilap-Kilap”, an anthology of notable pre-war movie advertisements in 2012 during the opening of Cinemalaya.
- Liwayway Magazine (Development of Philippine Culture) – Liwayway is a Filipino magazine established in the Philippines in 1922 that published significant works of known writers and poets as well as works of National Artists for Literature Amado V. Fernandez, Lazaro Francisco, Virgilio Almario, and Cirilo Bautista and National Artist for Visual Arts Francisco V. Coching. It is home to well-known comic series such as Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (1925) and Kenkoy (1929). Liwayway is currently published by Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.
- Antonio Fabella (Dance; Posthumous) – Antonio Fabella is one of the country’s most talented and most prolific choreographers. He was a member and principal dancer of Bayanihan, Alice Reyes Modern Dance Company, and Ballet Philippines. He later served as choreographer for the acclaimed Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company, Member of the Artistic Council of the Philippine Ballet Theater, Artistic director of QC Performing Arts Group and the Manila Dance Center that provided free training to poor children in performing arts.
- Alice Guillermo for Cultural Research (Posthumous) – Dr. Alice Guerrero-Guillermo is a renowned art historian and art critic. She was conferred The CCP Centennial Honor for the Arts on February 2, 1999, in recognition for her remarkable contributions to Philippine Art Criticism with a distinctly nationalist perspective.
The Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, is awarded every three years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, awarding ceremonies will be held in 2021.
Source: Gawad CCP Para sa Sining Awardees Named Press Release (2020), Cultural Center of the Philippines.