THE 2009 NATIONAL ARTIST AWARDS

NCCA ANNOUNCES ACCEPTANCE OF ENTRIES TO THE 2009 NATIONAL ARTIST AWARDS

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is now accepting nominations for the new batch of the Order of National Artists for conferment in 2009.

Order of the National Artists is the highest national recognition being given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts - in music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts, and architecture and allied arts.

PA on Culture and NCCA Executive Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez said that the award embodies the country’s highest ideals in humanism and aesthetic expression through distinct achievements of individuals in any of the seven fields of the arts being conferred by the President of the Philippines every three years.

“In 2003, through Executive Order 236, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred additional prestige on the award by raising it to the level of a Cultural Order, fourth in precedence among the orders that comprise the Honors Code of the Philippines,” added Guidote-Alvarez.

Eligible to be nominated for the National Artists are living artists who are Filipino citizens as well as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972; artists who through the content and form of their works have contributed in building a sense of nationhood; and have pioneered a mode of creative expression which earned distinction and has an impact on succeeding generations of artists and consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching artistic expression or style.

“Broad acceptance through prestigious national or international recognition, critical acclaim and reviews of their works, and the respect and esteem from peers, is a big plus factor for consideration,” said Guidote-Alvarez.

The nomination may be submitted by any government and non-government cultural organizations and educational institutions, as well as private foundations and councils on or before December 31, 2007 with a cover letter signed by the head of the organization accompanied by a board resolution approving the nominee, a duly accomplished nomination form, detailed curriculum vitae of the nominee, list of significant works categorized according to the criteria, with latest photograph, copies of published reviews and any other documents that may be required by the secretariat.

All correspondences, nomination forms, and supporting materials should be addressed to the National Artists Award Secretariat through the CCP Office of the Artistic Director in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City or at the NCCA-Office of the Deputy Executive Director in Intramuros, Manila. The NCCA and CCP are jointly administering the award and made recommendations to the President.

The official nomination form can be downloaded at http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_ncca/national_artist_guidelines.php or get in touch with Frances Alincastre at 527-2192 local 503 or 511.


In the thirty-five years of the award, it was already given to 57 Filipino artists of which 15 are still living - Napoleon Abueva (Sculture, 1976), Lucresia R. Kasilag (Music, 1988), Arturo Luz (Visual Arts, 1997), Daisy Avellana (Theater, 1999), Edith Tiempo (Literature, 1999), Andrea Veneracion (Music, 1999), F. Sionil Jose (Literature, 2001), Virgilio S. Almario (Literature, 2003), Salvador F. Bernal (Theater and Design, 2003), Alejandro R. Roces, Jr. (Literature, 2003), Eddie Romero (Film and Broadcast Arts, 2003), and the batch 2006 awardees - Bienvenido Lumbera (Literature), Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr. (Landscape Architecture), Abdulmari Asia Imao (Sculpture) and Benedicto R. Cabrera (Visual Arts).

Aside from the rank and title, medallion and citation, a proclaimed National Artist will have the following privileges – a cash award of Php 100,000.00 for living awardees and Php 75,000.00 for posthumous awardees, a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits, life insurance coverage for those whoa re still insurable, arrangements and expenses for a State Funeral and a place of honor at national state functions and recognition at cultural events.
The National Artists Award was established under Proclamation 1001 in 1972 and first conferred to Fernando Amorsolo on that same year. Proclamation 1144 mandated the CCP Board of Trustees to administer the award including the privileges and honors to National Artists and in 1992, upon the creation of NCCA under Republic Act 7356, the two institutions are now jointly administering the award.

Guidote-Alvarez added that the National Artists award being bestow by the Republic, is not only a recognition of highest achievements in the arts but it in turns honors our own cultural heritage and the Filipino expression of culture and traditions, history, way of life and aspirations.