The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Visual Arts and Museum Division (VAMD), is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Thirteen Artists Awards (TAA).

At its first presentation 50 years ago, the TAA started as a curatorial project of the CCP Museum under the directorship of its first curator Roberto Chabet.

The TAA was created in order to showcase the works of artists who grasped to “restructure, restrengthen and renew art-making and art thinking . . . that lend viability to Philippine art.”

It was Raymundo Albano, the next director of the CCP Museum and Non-Theater Operations, who transformed the TAA into the awards program that it is today.

Nominated artists must possess a body of work characterized by artistic integrity, innovativeness, and forcefulness of ideas; be responsive to contemporary realities; provide evidence of sustained artistic activity demonstrated by a track record of individual exhibitions and group shows for at least the past three years, as well as engagement with contemporary visual art forms including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, new media, installation, performance art, photography, printmaking and digital imaging; and be a Filipino citizen, and less than 40 years old in the year of conferment or must be born 1982 onwards.

Art councils, art groups, heads/deans of art schools, museum and gallery curators and directors, art critics and past Thirteen Artists Awardees may nominate a maximum of three artists each.

The CCP VAMD under the Production and Exhibition Department and the Office of the Artistic Director will convene a selection Committee composed of four past awardees and the head of the CCP VAMD.

The prizes of a TTA include a cash grant to defray the cost of materials for producing new work for a group exhibition at the CCP Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery), which will open with the formal awarding ceremonies, a specially commissioned trophy designed by a Thirteen Artists Awardee and specially commissioned for the 2021 Thirteen Artists Awards, and participation in CCP’s public programs of discussions, lectures, workshops and other activities.

Deadline for nominations is on March 1, at 11:59 p.m.

Download the nomination form at bit.ly/taa2021nominations and email to [email protected]. Tel. 88321125 local 1504/1505, 0917-6033809. Follow @ccpvamd on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; visit culturalcenter.gov.ph.