Mactan Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) is urging artists to join the art and design competitions ahead of the celebration of the Quincentennial anniversary of Datu Lapulapu’s victory on the shores of Mactan.
NQC executive director Dr. Rene Escalante said the deadline has been extended to January 6, 2021, to give more artists across the country the opportunity to be part of these competitions.
He made this call during the Mugstoria Ta, an online conversation hosted by Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.
“We know that our artists have also been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. And so, we are organizing these competitions to help our artists. The Quincentennial celebration isn’t just about tourism. We also want our artists to be involved,” Escalante said.
To ease the burden of the artists in shipping their entries, Escalante said the NQC opened 23 new drop-off points across the country, mostly in museums manned by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
In the Visayas, the drop off points are the Museum of the Philippine Economic History in Iloilo City; The Negros Museum in Bacolod City; the National Museum in Tagbilaran City; Cebu City Cultural and Historical Affairs Office, Rizal Memorial Library and Museum, Cebu City; Lapu-Lapu City Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission office and the Department of Tourism Regional Office VIII in Tacloban City.
The painting competition has four themes: sovereignty, magnanimity, unity, and legacy. The grand prize per theme is P500,000. The rest of the top eight entries shall receive the special prize of P50,000 each.
The competition is among the remaining activities of the NQC that will push through amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50 projects in time for the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations were canceled or indefinitely postponed.
Aside from the painting competition, Escalante also urged the public to join the Lapu-Lapu National Monument Design Competition, one of the flagship projects as part of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan.
The contest, he said, takes inspiration from the Bonifacio Monument design competition in the 1930s won by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino to commemorate Philippine revolutionary Gat. Andres Bonifacio, the founder and Supremo of the Katipunan.
The winning design will serve as the new Lapu-Lapu National Monument. It will be located inside the proposed Lapu-Lapu Shrine and Museum to be built at the Liberty Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, but the existing Lapulapu Monument also located at the Liberty Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City will not be replaced.
The classically styled design must be based on historical, archeological, and cultural research. Entries must be submitted via electronic mail to infra@nqc.gov.ph on or before the set deadline.
The winning entry will serve as the basis of the Lapu-Lapu National Monument which will be the centerpiece of the proposed memorial shrine and shall receive P300,000. /rcg