THE Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (Opav) recently hailed nine Cebuanos and eight other Filipinos who were selected to join the semifinal of the 15th International ARC Salon Competition.
Three works of Cebuano artist Romulo Galicano and two works of Cebu-based Adeste Deguilmo, who hails from Basilan, were among the semifinal entries.
The other Cebuanos in the semifinal slots were Florentino Impas Jr., Darby Vincent Alcoseba and Orley Ypon. Impas has six entries, while Alcoseba and Ypon have two entries each.
The other artists who reached the semis were Jonathan Abellana, Antonio Alcoseba, Mark Lloyd Belicario, Crispin Bobier and Garry Allen Watin. They each have one entry.
Cagayan de Oro City native Clint Normandia, the youngest president of the Cebu Art Society, also has an entry.
The rest of the Filipino semifinalists are Ronilo Abayan, Christian Luke Alarcon, Randalf Dilla, Ariel Francisco, Matina Partosa and Chelsea Theodossis.
Opav Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino congratulated the Cebuano semifinalists as well as the other Filipinos for their achievement.
“Being chosen as semifinalists is quite an honor,” Dino said.
Of the 4,941 entries from 83 countries received by the Art Renewal Center, 1,977 works were selected as semifinalists.
“The entire Visayas and the Philippines will be rooting for you. Never doubt the world-class talent of the Visayans and the Filipinos as well. We pray that you’ll win this prestigious award,” Dino said.
The Art Renewal Center is a non-profit, educational foundation. It hosts the largest online museum dedicated to representational art and includes works by the old masters, 19th century and 21st century artists, as well as articles, letters and other online resources.
Famous
The Art Renewal Center is known for its competitions and exhibitions dedicated to 21st century realism.
Considered as the most influential and far reaching competition, the International ARC Salon competition is offering US$130,000 in cash awards, including US$25,000 as the top prize.
“Another roster of our finalists will be posted on Dec. 9th, and the images of all of our semifinalists along with finalists, honorable mentions and winners will be posted on Jan. 13th, when we announce the final results of the competition,” the ARC explained on its website.
The winners of the 15th ARC Salon Competition will be showcased during its live exhibition in New York in June or July of 2021 and in Barcelona, Spain from Oct. 8 to Dec. 12, 2021.
The 15th ARC Salon Competition has a jury panel of 21 prestigious category jurors and over 40 jurors total when including partnering awards.
Categories include figurative art, portraiture, imaginative realism, landscape, still life, drawing, sculpture, fully from life, plein air painting, animals and a special category for teens.