NATIONAL ARTIST FOR VISUAL ARTS:
Abdulmari Asia Imao (January 14, 1936 –
December 16, 2014)
Imao was instrumental in popularizing the Ukil,
Sarimanok and Naga motifs in the country as
original Filipino creations. He helped in
developing trust and confidence among cultural
groups, which is needed in building a more
humane community and society.
Fernando Amorsolo (May 30, 1892 – April 24,
1972)
Amorsolo is the first National Artist in the
country and was known for using backlighting
technique in painting making his creations bright
and cheerful.
Carlos “Botong” Francisco (November 4, 1912 –
March 31, 1969)
Francisco revived the art of mural and was
considered to be the most distinguished mural
painter for about three decades and was known
for using historical events as subject matter for his
murals.
Hernando R. Ocampo (April 28, 1911 –
December 28, 1978)
Ocampo was largely known for his abstract
paintings. His works featured shapes bounded
with curved lines painted in intense colors. His
masterpiece “Genesis” was used as the basis of
the design of the curtain of the Cultural Center of
the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater.
He was known for his paintings expressing
nationalism and sociological agenda during the
60’s through vivid cubistic figures. His works
include “Geometric landscape,” “Pieta,” and the
“Seated Figure.”
Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005)
Francisco Coching (January 29, 1919 –
September 1, 1998)
Tagged as the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators,”
Coching is best known for his work on comics and
illustrations which lead to its recognition as
popular art. He has influenced cartoonists such as
Larry Alcala, Ben Infante and Nestor Redondo.
Guillermo E. Tolentino (July 24, 1890 – July 12,
1976)
Honored as National Artist for Sculpture in 1973
and was known for designing the seal of the
Republic of the Philippines, and the gold and
bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award.
Tolentino’s works include the “UP Oblation”.
Napoleon V. Abueva (January 26, 1930)
Abueva was considered to be the Father of
Modern Philippine Sculpture. He is skillful in
creating both representational and modern
Victorio C. Edades (December 23, 1895 – March
7, 1985)
Benedicto Cabrera (April 10, 1942)
abstract sculptures using a wide variety of
materials. He was also known for creating
“buoyant sculpture,” a type of sculpture to be
viewed from the surface of a pool.
Recognized as the Father of Modern Philippine
Painting and was known for using dark somber
colors in his paintings. His works focused on
factory workers, laborers or other simple
townspeople.
Known as “Bencab,” Cabrera was noted as the
bestselling painter of his generation of Filipino
artists and also known for his sketches of a
scavenger named “Sabel”, a symbol of
dislocation,
despair
and
isolation-the
personification of human dignity threatened by
life’s circumstance.”
NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR ARCHITECHTURE:
Ildefonso P. Santos (September 5, 1929 – January
29, 2014)
Santos pioneered landscape architecture in the
Philippines. His work in the Makati Commercial
Center incorporated fountains, sculptures and
landscapes to a shopping area.
NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR LITERATURE:
Historical Literature
Carlos Quirino (November 4, 1910 – May 20,
1999)
He is the first and so far, the only National Artist
for Historical Literature and was also known for
writing “The. Great Malayan,” which considered
to be one of the earliest. biographies of Jose Rizal.
Literature
Francisco Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August
1, 2002)
N.V.M Gonzales (September 8, 1915 – November
28, 1999)
Arcellana is a writer, poet, essayist, critic,
journalist and teacher, who is recognized as one
of the pioneers in writing modern Filipino short
stories in English. He also originated the lyrical
prose-poetic form in writing short stories.
Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales is a fictionist,
essayist, poet and teacher. He earned numerous
recognitions including the First Commonwealth
Literary Contest in 1940, the Republic Cultural
Heritage Award in 1960 and the Gawad CCP Para
sa Sining in 1990.
Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004)
F. Sionil Jose (December 3, 1924)
He is considered as the most distinguished
Filipino writer in English writing. His body of work
extends from.short stories to poems to essays
which includes journalism and reportage. He used
the name Guerre Quijano de Manila as journalist.
F.Sionil Jose is one of the most widely read
Filipino writers founded the Philippine chapter of
the international organization PEN.
NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR DANCE, MUSIC, FILM, AND THEATER:
Cinema/Film
Lino Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991)
Catalino “Lino” Ortiz Brocka is recognized for his
films which explores the lives of people in the
marginalized sectors. Brocka also directed for
theater organizations such as the Philippine
Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the
Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP).
Dance
Francisca Reyes Aquino (March 9, 1899 –
November 21, 1983)
She was known for her research on Philippine
folk dances, which later resulted to a thesis
entitled “Philippine Folk Dances and Games.” It
was distributed to public and private schools.
Leonor Orosa Goquingco (July 24, 1917 – July 15,
2005)
She was known as the “Mother of Philippine
Theater Dance,” Goquingco blended folkloric and
Asian styles in ballet choreography. She was a
founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theater
and the Honorary Chair of the Association of Ballet
Academies of the Philippines.
Ramon Obusan (June 16, 1938 – December 21,
2006)
A dancer, choreographer, artistic director,
researcher, and documentary filmmaker. He was
able to promote Filipino culture in other countries
using the art of dance through the Ramon Obusan
Folkloric Group.
Reyes-Urtula was the dance director of the
Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company, for which
she choreographed different Philippine folk,
ethnic dances, pageants and festivals.
Lucrecia Reyes – Urtula (June 29, 1929 – August
24, 1999)
Lucio San Pedro (February 11, 1913 – March 31,
2002)
Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002)
Antonio J. Molina (December 16, 1894 – January
29, 1980)
Best known for his compositions “Sa Ugoy ng
Duyan,” “Sa Mahal Kong Bayan,” “Dance of the
Fairies,” “Triumphal March,” and “Lahing
Kayumanggi,” Lucio San Pedro was the conductor
of the Peng Kong Grand Mason Concert Band, the
San Pedro Band of Angono, and the Benda Angono
Numero Uno. Working with these bands and other
town bands helped in the development of a civic
culture among Filipino communities.
Celerio is most known for his recognition as the
only man who could play music with a leaf in the
Guinness Book of World Records. He also earned
Lifetime Achievement Award of the Film Academy
of the Philippines for writing songs for local
movies. He was also known as the dean of Filipino
lyricists.
Molina was known for introducing the pentatonic
scale, whole tone scale, linear counterpoints and
the use of dominant ninths and eleventh chords
in Philippine music.
To be recognized as a Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) or National Living Treasure in the
Philippines, an artist must meet several qualifications.
CRITERIA:
1. The artist must be a member of an indigenous or traditional cultural community in the Philippines
that has preserved its customs, beliefs, rituals, and traditions.
2. The artist must have been engaged in a traditional art form that has been in existence and
documented for at least 50 years.
3. The artist must have consistently produced works of superior and distinctive quality over a
significant period.
4. The artist must possess a high level of technical skill and mastery of the tools and materials needed
for their art.
5. The artist must be recognized in their community as a master and maker of works of extraordinary
technical quality.
6. The artist must have passed on or be willing to pass on their skills to other members of the
community.
GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN (GAMABA) or NATIONAL LIVING TREASURE IN THE PH :
Eduardo Mutuc (2005 awardee)
He dedicated his life in creating religious and
secular art in silver, bronze and wood. According
to him, craftsmanship begins with respect for
one’s tools and the medium, and the only way to
improve one’s skills is to immerse oneself, learn
the technique, and to practice.
Darhata Sawabi (2005 awardee)
Haja Amina Appi (2005 awardee)
Lang Dulay (1998 awardee)
Alonzo Saclag (2000 awardee)
Federico Caballero
Masino Intaray (1993 awardee)
Samon Sulaiman (1993 awardee)
Uwang Ahadas (2000 awardee)
She is a Tausug weaver of pis syabit – the
traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head cover.
Women in Sulu province have grown up learning
in weaving the pis syabit and she is one of those
who took the art of pis syabit making to heart.
She is recognized as a master mat weaver among
the Sama indigenous community for her unique
designs, straightness of her edging (tabig), and
fineness of her sasa and kima-kima.
She is a T’boli traditional weaver of “tinalak” or
T’boli cloth made of colorful abaca fabrics. She
used abaca fibers as fine as hair which speaks
more eloquently than words can. Salinta Monon
(1998 awardee) She is a Tagabanwa-Bagobo
traditional weaver of distinct abaca fabrics called
inabal. She developed a keen eye for the
traditional designs and can identify the designs as
well as the author of a woven piece just by a
glance.
He is a Kalinga master of dance and the
performing arts who mastered not only the
Kalinga musical instruments but also the dance
patterns and movements associated with his
people’s ritual.
He is a Sulod-Bukidnon epic chanter who works
for the documentation of the oral literature. He
is considered as bantugan which means a person
who has attained distinction. He strikes to
dispense justice in the community through his
work as a manughusay which is an arbiter of
conflicts.
He is a prolific and pre-eminent epic canter and
story teller recognized for his outstanding
mastery of various traditional musical
instruments of the Palaw’an people, such as
basal, kulilal and bagit. He is an outstanding
master of the basal, kulilal (musical ensemble) and
bagit; a gifted pot, bard artist, and musician.
He is Magindanaon, who is highly sophisticated
in weaving, okir designs, jewelry, metalwork and
brassware which art is Southeast Asian yet
distinct in character.
His near-blindness eyesight made music his
constant companion. He is a Yakan, a people to
whom instrumental music is of much significance,
connected as it is with both the agricultural cycle
and the social realm.
Ginaw Bilog (1993 awardee)
Magdalena Gamayo (2012 awardee)
He is a Hanunoo Mangyan who is considered as a
master of the ambahan poetry. He shares old and
new ambahans with his fellow Mangyans and
promotes this poetic form in every occasion. A
common cultural aspect among cultural
communities nationwide is the oral tradition
characterized by poetic verses which are either
sung or chanted.
She is a master weaver who makes “Inabel”, an
Ilokano handwoven cloth. She was awarded for
her wide array skills in textile weaving. Her
handiworks are finer than most Abel. Her blankets
have a very high thread count and her deigns are
the most intricate that sometimes take up to five
colors.