The artists will be awarded on September 16, the same day an accompanying exhibit opens.
Earlier today, the awardees of this year’s Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) Painting and Sculpture Recognition Program was announced. It listed three sculptors, three oil/acrylic artists, and two creatives making use of watermedia on paper, who were cited out of 700 submissions.
“A nation’s struggle against a pandemic, a commentary on the horrors that plague society, the depth of the human psyche; these are the striking narratives that this year’s winning works express through masterful command of medium and technique,” reads the accompanying caption to the announcement.
The program’s grand awardees are Ariosto Dale Bagtas (oil/acrylic) for “Between Heaven and Earth,” Lymuel Bautista (watermedia on paper) for “Haunting Wail of Chaos,” and Kathleen Sareena Dagum (sculpture) for “Bungkag.”
An Interior Design graduate from the University of the East, Bagtas won first prize at the GSIS Art Competition two years ago. Bautista, who graduated with a Fine Arts degree from Bulacan State University, was mentored by Alfredo Esquillo and Renato Habulan under Eskinita Gallery’s Tuklas program. Meanwhile, Dagum is also a painter, and has illustrated the book Marawi: Land of the Brave.
Special citations were given to Clark Manalo (“Uncesored Fallacy of Faith”), Mark Laza (“Binyag sa Landas-apoy”), Crispo Matiquilla (“Lucas 21:11”), Tyrone Dave Espinosa (“Nakakabinging Katahimikan”), and Carlo De Laza (“Isang Pangarap ang Managinip”).
According to its website, MADE is the visual arts and design program of the Metrobank Foundation. It has been recognizing young Filipino artists and promoting Philippine art culture since 1984.
It started out as the Metrobank National Painting Competition, and was later renamed as the Young Painters’ Annual. After widening its scope to include sculpture, interior design, and architecture, it was relaunched as MADE in 2004.
As the MADE site shares, to date “the arts intervention programs of Metrobank Foundation has given recognition to almost 500 young artists and has supported close to 300 other art activities like exhibits of competition winners, art workshops, art festivals, facilities improvement of museums and schools, among others.”
Among the past winners of MADE are Mark Justiniani, Elmer Borlongan, Manny Garibay, Raffy Napay, Mark Andy Garcia, Leeroy New, Yeo Kaa, Gelo Maňosa, Jonathan V. Dangue, Gerard Thomas Joson, and Wilhelmina Garcia.
The winners will be awarded and a corresponding exhibit of the works will be opened on September 16. You can RSVP here.
Banner Photo: “Between Heaven and Earth,” by Ariosto Dale Bagtas
