Shell holds 45th National Students Art Competition

Manila, Philippines -  The 2012 Shell National Students Art Competition (NSAC) raises the curtains for future art luminaries as the annual contest announces the call for entries this year.

The competition is open to college students with at least 12 units enrolled for the school year 2012-2013. It has four open-themed categories — oil/acrylic, watercolor, sculpture, digital fine arts, and only one themed classification — the calendar category. This year’s calendar theme is “Buhay Makulay,” which urges young contestants to observe and depict with fresh eyes the many wonders of the Philippines, such as natural sites and man-made structures, time-honored traits, or unique customs and traditions that capture the essence of being Filipino.

Now in its 45th year, the NSAC is the Philippine’s longest-running national student art tilt, and is in fact, the first of its kind to open the doors of recognition exclusively to young talents of the visual arts. It had a humble start as a search for subjects of the Shell calendar for the year 1952. The program has since become a platform for aspiring artists and their representations of the people’s history through the youth’s depiction of their own realities and hopes, as it tracks the development of art in terms of movements and media. Spanning three generations now, the contest has maintained its relevance to youths of their respective eras, counting as “graduates” the likes of Jose Joya, Ang Kiukok, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Bencab, Juvenal Sanso, and other contemporary masters.

Cash prizes, award plaques, and gifts await young artists who will bring home this year’s top honors. Previous first prize winners in the Shell competition may still join except in the category where they already won. Students may submit a maximum of two entries only: two submissions for any one category, or one entry per category.

Submission of provincial entries is on Aug. 1, 2, and 3 in the following receiving centers: Museo Iloilo, Anthill Fabric Gallery, Gallery Orange, GENLUNA Gallery, and Shell provincial depots and installations. For Metro Manila entries, submission dates are on Aug. 9, 10, 11, 2012 at the Shell Art House, 698 Aurora Blvd., New Manila, Quezon City (in front of St. Paul’s University).

For information, visit http://www.shell.com.ph/shell_art, or visit the fine arts or student affairs dean’s office.