The Government Service Insurance System is inviting all Filipino artists who are 18 years old and above to join the 2019 GSIS National Art Competition.
The one-day submission of entries to the art contest is set on May 4, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the GSIS Gymnasium located in the Head Office, Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.
“Now on its 15th year, the annual art tilt has raised the prizes at stake for its three open-themed categories,” GSIS President and General Manager Jesus Clint Aranas said in a statement.
The first prize winner in the two categories (mixed media and nonrepresentational) will now receive P400,000 (from the previous year’s P300,000); the second prize winner, P300,000 (from Php200,000); and third prize, P200,000 (from P100,000).
Five honorable mentions will each receive P100,000 (from P30,000).
In the third category—sculpture—the cash prize for first and second places has also been raised to P300,000 and P200,000, respectively (from P200,000 and P100,000).
The third prize is maintained at P100,000.
Five honorable mentions will get P50,000 each (from P30,000).
All entries will be displayed in an art exhibit in the GSIS Museo ng Sining in Pasay City, but the winning pieces will become part of GSIS’s art collection.
“GSIS staunchly supports Filipino creativity. That’s why the art competition is one of our corporate social responsibility programs,” Aranas said.
He said it has attracted nearly thousands of artists from various sectors every year, including recently, senior citizens, prison inmates, and Filipinos abroad. He added that it is now considered the country’s most awaited and biggest art contest.
According to Aranas, past winners have been noticed locally and have made waves in the international scene.
He cited Ben Cruz, perennial winner from 2014 to 2017.
Between those years (2015), he also bagged the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year award, the longest-running competition in Singapore and one of the most prestigious in Southeast Asia.
He also mentioned Sam Penaso, first prize winner in mixed media and nonrepresentational categories in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
He received a six-month Asian Cultural Council fellowship in New York, which enabled him to research on contemporary art and earn residency at the Art Hub in the United Arab Emirates.
Another artist is Natalio Alob Jr., winner in the sculpture category in 2012, who became the in-house artist for the stories of Princess Maha Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, whose books were sold in the United Kingdom and Arab countries.
Seb Chua, second prize winner in 2011, used one of his sculptures to generate support for the various causes of the United Nations Children’s Fund in the Philippines.
Interested artists who wish to join the contest may download entry forms and competition guidelines from the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph, or obtain copies from any GSIS office nationwide.
Queries on the art competition may be directed to 859-0395 or 479-3588 or emailed at [email protected].