“HE WHO does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination,” Filipino national hero Jose Rizal once said. His controversial works, made with deep thought about his nation’s future, are also grounded in its complicated past.
With the theme “The Past Holds the Future, the Future Holds the Past,” the first Paloma Digital Art Awards (PDAA) opened for submissions centered on that very notion.
“While we’re excited about technology, we are also still fully entrenched in traditional visual art forms. We want to see how artists are going to be able to interpret this, putting together the past and the future,” said Kimi Rocha-Delgado, one of the directors of Galeria Paloma, on the motivation behind the awards
PDAA is accepting entries for the following categories: Solo Artist, Still Work; Solo Artist, Video Work; Group/Collaboration, Still Work; and Group/Collaboration, Video Work.
The competition is open to Filipinos 18 years old and above.
Meanwhile, the group/collaboration categories are open to foreigners provided that at least one member is a Filipino citizen.
“In a way, the theme also inspires our gallery as we are excited about technology and how it has been a catalyst in many different changes in the art landscape,” Ms. Delgado told BusinessWorld at the press launch on July 13.
Galeria Paloma, a multi-genre art gallery, started its foray into NFT (non-fungible token) art in 2022. It now promotes local digital artists and brings them to the forefront of the local art scene through exhibitions.
The six judges selected by the directors of Galeria Paloma represent both traditional and digital fields of art. They are:
Kenny Schachter, a multi-disciplinary artist and columnist for Artnet.com;
Talenia Phua-Gajardo, founder of TheArtling.com, an international art and design consultancy firm and online gallery;
Michelle Gray, founder of Culture Vault, a web-curated digital art platform, marketplace, and creative agency;
Trickie Lopa, co-founder of Art Fair Philippines and Art in the Park;
Aj Dimarucot, an art director, artist, and graphic designer who has worked with dozens of international brands like Nike; and
Eric Paras, designer and founder of Artelano-11.
Mia Rocha-Lauchengco, also a director of Galeria Paloma, told BusinessWorld after the launch that they started PDAA to “encourage digital artists to showcase what they can do.”
“For the longest time, digital art was not considered fine art because it was usually for commercial purposes. Now, that’s all changing, and we want all the digital artists to come out of the woodwork,” she said.
Deadline for entries is on Aug. 15. Winners will be announced on Sept. 30.
The winners of each category will receive a cash prize of P50,000, gifts from the awards’ sponsors, and opportunities to have their artworks included in exhibitions, including one in Vienna for Artivive users.
For the full mechanics, visit www.galeriapaloma.com/pdaa.
