LRTA wants paintings for railway lines

MANILA, Philippines - The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) wants beautiful Filipino art, not graffiti, to welcome passengers at the stations of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2.

In a project with the Philippine Association of Printmakers, Inc. (PAP), the LRTA has launched the LRT Art 2009 to search for excellent paintings by talented Filipino artists that will be featured in the stations of the LRT Lines 1 and 2.

“We want our Filipino artists to come up with paintings featuring Filipino life and culture that will brighten the commute of our thousands of passengers daily,” Robles told The Star.

The grand prize winner will receive P200,000, five Juror’s Choice recipients will get P100,000 each, and six finalists will get P50,000 each.

Robles said aside from being displayed in LRT Line 1 and 2 stations, winning paintings will also be featured in the LRTA’s 2010 calendar, which will be given away next year when the LRTA celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The submission of all entries will be on May 30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the LRT Line 2 Cubao station. Robles stressed no entry fee will be collected from those submitting entries to the contest.

The LRTA earlier spearheaded a program to display Spanish poems by the best Spanish and Filipino writers in a project with Instituto Cervantes to promote the Spanish language among LRT Line 1 and 2, and Metro Rail Transit passengers. – Rainier Allan ronda