Filipino contemporary artist Issay Rodriguez is the first winner of the “2020 Portfolio Artist Prize,” which awards a P300,000 grant to chosen up-and-coming artists.
Rodriguez, known for her works dealing on humanism and ecology, received her check in an intimate ceremony at the Drawing Room Gallery on Dec. 14. Joining her were the project’s creators—art enthusiast Italian Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino and collector Hugo Bunzl—together with Cesar Villalon (director of Drawing Room) and representatives of Silverlens Gallery.
The project consists of a portfolio, “entitled “2020,” containing limited edition works by 10 well-known avant-garde Filipino artists, namely, At Maculangan, Gina Osterloh, Kawayan de Guia, Kiri Dalena, Manny Montelibano, Neal Oshima, Paul Pfeiffer, Poklong Anading, Wawi Navarroza, and Yason Banal.
Through the sale of the portfolio, funds were raised for prizes to be given to a limited number of rising artists chosen by a special jury. The art grant aims to financially support the awardees’ artistic endeavors.
Through arts-based research and community engagements, Rodriguez is able to work on projects that allow her to think about how thoughts, emotions, or values can be explained or materialized through art and technology. She also creates drawings and cyanotypes.
The young Filipino artist has had several solo and group exhibitions including the 47th International Venice Biennale and Art Fair Philippines 2019 and 2020. She has received prestigious residencies at Bellas Artes Projects, Asia in Darwin in Indonesia, and GasWorks in London.
The creators of the award and the portfolio hope to continue selling the portfolios in order to deliver more awards, possibly the next two by the end of January. Email ailene@a-listconsulting.co or call 0917-536-6856 for inquiries and more information.