MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Paloma Digital Art Awards 2023 is calling all Filipino artists 18 years old and older to submit their digital artworks for a chance to win the top prize in four categories: solo/single artist, still work; solo/single artist video work; group/collaboration, still work; group/collaboration, video work.
The competition is also open to foreign artists in the group/collaboration categories, provided that at least one member is of Filipino citizenship. There are no entrance fees or educational attainment stipulations to join the competition, and submissions are welcome until August 15.
This year’s theme is “The Past Holds the Future, the Future Holds the Past,” centered on how learning from, looking to, and leaning on the past propels us to move toward our future and is based on a quote by Filipino national hero Jose Rizal: “He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.”
Hosting the competition is Galeria Paloma, a multi-genre art gallery that forayed into the digital art landscape and spurred the desire to promote local digital artists and the digital medium. Galeria Paloma is a pioneering gallery that has brought digital/NFT art and phygital art to the forefront of the art scene, launching a series of exhibitions in accessible locations the past year like Art Fair Philippines in February, and representing the best digital artists of the Philippines, such as Luis Buenaventura, Aj Dimarucot, Sevi Agregado, the Magsino Brothers, Carlos, and Singaporean artist Wyn-Lyn Tan. In those exhibitions, the gallery has helped familiarize the art-going public with digital art, providing viewing experiences that go beyond viewing the works on computer or phone screens.
“The gallery is dedicated to encouraging Filipino artists in a broad sense, and more especially those who use and explore technology as a medium,” said Kimi Rocha-Delgado, one of the directors of Galeria Paloma. “Technology has become an inexorable catalyst in the changing art landscape. In step with this year’s theme, we are excited to keep holding on to established forms while moving forward with what technology has to offer and spark new synapses of creativity in artists.”
Partnering with Galeria Paloma are Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Artivive, Artelano-11, and Palladium.
The Paloma Digital Art Awards is a juried competition whose panel of judges comprises experts in local and international, and traditional and digital, art landscapes. The six judges selected by the directors of Galeria Paloma to represent a wide point-of-view encompassing traditional and digital fields of art are Kenny Schachter, multi-disciplinary artist and columnist for Artnet.com, Talenia Phua-Gajardo, CEO and Founder of TheArtling.com, an international art and design consultancy firm and online gallery, Michelle Gray, CEO and Founder of Culture Vault, a web3 curated digital art platform, marketplace, and creative agency, Trickie Lopa, Co-founder of Art Fair Philippines and Art in the Park, Aj Dimarucot, Art Director, artist, and graphic designer who has worked with dozens of international brands like Nike and the NFL, and Eric Paras, designer and Founder of Artelano-11.
Winners of each category will receive a cash prize of PHP 50,000 and gifts from the awards’ sponsors, as well as opportunities to have their artworks included in future exhibitions. Entries that employ augmented reality in their artworks through the Artivive app* will also have a chance to be a part of a curated exhibition to be held in the Artivive Gallery in Vienna, Austria.
This marks the first year of the Paloma Digital Art Awards, which is planned to be an annual event. The deadline for entries is on August 15 and winners will be announced on September 30.
A free Zoom workshop, “Creating Augmented Reality for Your Artwork,” is presented by Galeria Paloma and Artivive to teach artists how to create an augmented reality layer to their physical or digital artworks. The workshop will be held on July 20 at 7:00 pm and will be facilitated by Artivive Project Manager Karin Gutmaher. To register, visit here.
