The Order of National Artists of the Philippines is an order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine art. Members of the Order are known as National Artists. Originally instituted as an award, it was elevated to the status of order in 2003.
Bienvenido Lumbera is a Filipino poet, critic and dramatist. He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications. He won numerous literary awards, including the National Book Awards from the National Book Foundation, and the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture; an executing agency for the policies it formulates; and task to administering the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) -- fund exclusively for the implementation of culture and arts programs and projects.
Rolando Santos Tinio was a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator.
Nicanor G. Tiongson is a leading critic, creative writer and academic from the Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of Humanities degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines. A founding member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, Tiongson is currently Professor Emeritus of Film and Audio-visual Communication at the College of Mass Communication in U.P. Diliman.
Cirilo F. Bautista was a Filipino poet, critic and writer of nonfiction. A National Artist of the Philippines award was conferred on him in 2014.
Onofre R. Pagsanghan is a teacher and screenplay writer from the Ateneo de Manila High School, Philippines. An Ateneo alumnus himself, Mr. Pagsi, as he is fondly called by students and colleagues, began his teaching career in his alma mater in 1951. He teaches English and Filipino to high school students. In addition, he is also the moderator of the theater group Dulaang Sibol, which he founded in 1956. Now on his 63rd year of teaching, he has received numerous awards in the fields of teaching and theater.
Alejandro Reyes Roces was a Filipino author, essayist, dramatist and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature. He served as Secretary of Education from 1961 to 1965, during the term of Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.
Hernando Ruiz Ocampo was a Filipino National Artist in the visual arts. He is also fictionist, a playwright and editor.
Mario Parial was a Multi-awarded Filipino painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His works have been sold at Sotheby's.
Damiana Ligon Eugenio was a Filipino female author and professor who was known as the Mother of Philippine Folklore, a title she received in 1986. Apart from teaching at the University of the Philippines, she has several publications in the field of Philippine folklore, among them a series of seven books which she compiled and edited.
The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
Cesar Augusto "Cesare" Limcaco Syjuco is a multi-media artist, painter, poet and art critic from Manila, Philippines.
Ernani Potel Cuenco was a Filipino composer, film scorer, musical director, music teacher and Philippine National Artist for Music. He wrote an outstanding and memorable body of works that resonate with the Filipino sense of musicality and which embody an ingenious voice that raises the aesthetic dimensions of contemporary Filipino music. Cuenco played with the Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1968, and the Manila Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970. He completed a music degree in piano and cello from the University of Santo Tomas where he also taught for decades until his death in 1988.
The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a specialized public high school in the Philippines offering arts-focused education established in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1287. An attached agency of the Department of Education, it consults with the Cultural Center of the Philippines for policy and program implementation of its arts program. Aside from the Basic Education curriculum prescribed by the government, it offers various specializations in the field of arts.
Allen Dizon is a Filipino actor, model and producer in the Philippines. A former member of the Viva Hot Men, Dizon has transitioned from his early years in daring roles to become an independent film actor and producer.
Ramon Arevalo Obusan was a Filipino dancer, choreographer, stage designer and artistic director. Obusan is credited for his work in promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work. He is also an acclaimed archivist, researcher and documentary filmmaker who focused on Philippine culture. He also founded Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group in 1971. Among the awards Obusan received was the Patnubay ng Kalinangan award by the City of Manila in 1992, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining award in 1993 and the prestigious National Artist of the Philippines for dance in May 2006.
The Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, which is given every three years, or triennial event is awarded to artists or groups of artists who have consistently produced outstanding works, enriched the development of their art form. The award is also given to cultural workers, who through their works in research, curatorship and administration, have helped to develop and enrich Philippine art. This is the highest award given by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to Filipino artists and cultural workers
Gardeopatra Gador Quijano was a Filipino Visayan dentist, teacher, writer, and fiction author known for her novel, Lourdes, which is regarded as the first feminist novel written in the Cebuano language. She is considered the first Cebuana feminist fiction writer and was awarded the Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 1993.
