Contemporary Arts in The Philippines: Official Gazette
Contemporary Arts in The Philippines: Official Gazette
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you, as a learner are expected to:
• identify the works of National Artists and recognize their contributions to Philippine art and culture
through a research project report;
• analyze the works of National Artists in relation to the public sphere;
• evaluate the criteria of the National Artists Award (NAA) through creative group projects; and
• explain issues related to the NAA through a report or a critical paper
Among the various institutional awards and recognition instruments, the National Artist Award
(NAA) bestows the highest form of recognition to Filipino artists for their significant
contributions in the arts and letters. It shares the same prestige as the GAMABA and the National
Scientist Award. The award is conferred every three years through a rigorous deliberation and
selection process jointly facilitated by two major cultural offices, the National Commission on Culture
and the Arts and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
NAA was established in 1972 under Presidential Decree No. 1001 issued by then President
Ferdinand Marcos. The first recipient was Fernando Amorsolo, who was conferred the award
posthumously. Much has changed since the institutionalization of the award. As of this writing, the
roster has included 66 awardees from seven disciplinal areas, namely: (1) architecture, design, and
allied arts (2) film and broadcast arts (3) visual arts (4) literature (5) dance (6) music, and (7)
theater. In the history of the NAA, other categories have been considered by virtue of the president’s
prerogative, among them, historical literature, and fashion design.
o Their distinctive style and pioneering works impacts succeeding generations of artist;