Cover Photo courtesy of Gallery Paloma
Photo courtesy of Gallery Paloma
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For the first time ever, the Paloma Digital Art Awards is calling all Filipino artists 18 years old and older to submit their electronic artworks. Read on to know more
“It’s really a passion project—to be able to find these talented digital artists and present them to the world,” Galeria Paloma director Mia Rocha Lauchengco discloses in an interview. The Paloma Digital Art Awards opens with the theme The Past Holds the Future, the Future Holds the Past. It calls all Filipino artists 18 years and older to submit their electronic artworks under four categories: solo/single artist, still work; solo/single artist video work; group/collaboration, still work; group/collaboration, and video work.
“With blockchain technology, there’s a renaissance of digital artists who are finally able to bring out their work and what they want to create. That’s what we want to highlight,” Lauchengco explains.
In case you missed it: Galeria Paloma offers a 'phygital' experience at Art Fair PH 2023
Above Photo courtesy of Gallery Paloma
Photo courtesy of Gallery Paloma
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Multi-genre gallery Galeria Paloma commits itself to promoting local digital artists and the digital medium. In the past years, it has successfully brought digital, NFT art and phygital art to the forefront of the art scene, launching a series of exhibitions in accessible locations at Art Fair Philippines.
“The gallery is dedicated to encouraging Filipino artists in a broad sense, and more especially those who use and explore technology as a medium,” says 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 and at the same time move forward with what technology has to offer and spark new synapses of creativity in artists,” she adds.
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On copyright
Galeria Paloma honours the integrity of every artist who seeks to submit their artwork. “It [digital art] will be submitted to us, but it still belongs to the artists; people will be able to trace who submitted it. Only the winning entries will be owned by the Galeria Paloma. Once they are announced as winners, we will be minting them on the blockchain,” Lauchengco says.
Gallery co-director Georgia Rocha Chu, for her part, says that the gallery has two ways of gatekeeping content; she asserts, however, that the awarding body will be reliant on the honesty of its contestants.
“We are definitely reliant on the integrity of the artists. So, if there are any copyright issues, that is going to be the risk of the artist; if there is an attestation in the entry form that all the copyrights are theirs and they’re infringing on the copyright of somebody else, that’s our first way to gatekeep,” she says.
“Second would be the judges. That’s why we have the judges to help us with more eyes on the artwork. Hopefully, it doesn’t reach the point where we announce something then somebody will say ‘Hey, wait a minute, that’s mine’. There will be a period for that before we announce,” she adds.
Judges
Photo: Trickie Lopa | Courtesy of Gallery Paloma
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The Paloma Digital Art Awards is a juried competition whose panel of judges comprise 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, listing thousands of artists from around the world.
- 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.
- Eric Paras, designer and founder of Artelano-11.
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Photo: Eric Paras | Courtesy of Gallery Paloma
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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 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 2023.
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Credits
Images: courtesy of Gallery Paloma
Jove holds a degree in Journalism and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines–Diliman. She has flair for in-depth, interview-driven stories that explore politics and culture, shaped by her background in national broadsheets.
When she’s not on assignment, Jove spends her days painting, sipping lemonade, and walking her dog, Jupiter. She can often be seen in Escolta with a film camera in hand, browsing novelty shops in search of rare memorabilia. For leads, reach her at Jove@tatlerphilippines.com.
