The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) held the awarding ceremony for the 2024 Thirteen Artists Award (TAA) and private opening for their exhibition in the National Museum of Fine Arts on Oct. 7. The event showcased the hard work and fullness of these artists’ creativity, but also brought to light the struggles that came with bringing the exhibit to life.
Established in 1970 by former CCP Museum Director Mr. Roberto Chabet, the TAA is a triennial recognition that honors contemporary Filipino artists who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine art through their works. For the first time since its establishment, the CCP presented the exhibit for the TAA at the National Museum of Fine Arts, which served as the venue for this long-awaited showcase.
This year’s award recognizes the new generation of artists who are actively shaping the country’s contemporary art scene.
Art and accountability
Despite this prestigious award, the artists’ challenges in bringing this group exhibition to life were brought center-stage during the event. In her opening speech, co-written by the other awardees, multidisciplinary artist Ms. Catalina Africa called out the CCP over issues in receiving compensation for the creation of the exhibit.
“As artists, we need to be paid for our labor, and it was made clear to us that the only costs that would be reimbursed are materials, transportation, and outsourced services, meaning that we as artists wouldn’t be able to pay ourselves for our own labor, implying too that our labor does not matter.”
The artist, who stood as a representative for this batch of TAA recipients, revealed that only 50% of the total budget was released within the last two weeks, further highlighting the unfair treatment that these artists had experienced. She added, “I believe that if this is truly an award, then I think that the budget should be given in full, given well ahead of the exhibition date, and that the artist should have full freedom on how this would be spent.”
As she ended, she quoted her fellow TAA awardee, Ms. Jel Suarez, who said, “Art is not a linear path. It is shaped by the quiet rituals of care, our personal lives, and the unseen labor that makes this creative privilege possible.”
Ms. Mel Wang, from RollingStone, writes in their article exclusive on the event that this concern was addressed later on by Ms. Kaye Tinga, President of the CCP, who in her statement revealed that the CCP Board of Trustees, as well as the CCP Management, were present at the awarding and upon hearing this concern, had already begun reviewing the grant process.
Redefining Philippine art
A walkthrough of the exhibit immerses the visitor into an array of mediums, displays, and the unique, thoughtful intention of each artist. From interactive sculptures to digital media, each piece was carefully curated and displayed to showcase how these artists push the boundaries of Philippine art. Exhibit curator and 2015 TAA recipient, Ms. Mervy Pueblo, expressed in her speech, “Their work reminds us that Philippine art does not imitate, it declares.”
Take TAA recipient, Ms. Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwagan’s untitled work for example, which responds to the seemingly “fixed” museum collections in the National Museum, by creating a series of “unfinished” works in an effort to “unfreeze” these objects. She shared in her interview with The Benildean how, “Even the act of remembering changes, and when you rewrite, it also changes. So my goal is to sort of unfreeze the collection. [...] To say that history, archives, and collections breathe, so there’s nothing fixed about it.”
When asked what it was like to have their works at the National Museum, TAA recipient Mx. Joshua Serafin echoed the issues highlighted in Ms. Africa’s opening speech, stating that the difficulty they had in mounting the show due to the bureaucracies present during the pre-exhibition stage.
Despite this, they are glad to have the opportunity to showcase their works back home, "It's quite nice to come back home and share the work to everyone here, because it's made by Filipinos for Filipinos.”
To quote Ms. Tinga in a speech given during the event, let the works of these artists be a reminder that “[...] We can say for certain that the Filipino imagination is alive, restless, and unflayed.”
Visit the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Thirteen Artists Award exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts until Jan. 12, 2026. For more information on the exhibition and other public programs with the Thirteen Artists Award recipients, visit the museum’s website, or their Instagram, and Facebook pages.
