NATIONAL ARTIST

National Artist Award is the highest

distinction bestowed upon Filipino Artists
whose body of work is recognized by
their peers and more importantly by
their countrymen as sublime expression
of Philippine music, dance, theatre,
visual arts, literature, film and media,
arts, architecture and design.
These are artists who have promoted
Filipino cultural identity and dignity
through their art. President Ferdinand E.
Marcos through proclamation no.1001
dated April 2 1972, confers the award to
deserving individuals as recommended
by the Cultural Center of the Philippines
(CCP) and the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
CRITERIA
1.Living artists who have been Filipino
citizens for the last ten years prior to
nomination as well as those who have died
after the establishment of the award in 1972
but were Filipino citizens at the time of their
death;

2. Artists who have helped build a

Filipino sense of nationhood through the
3.Artists who have distinguished
themselves by pioneering in a mode of
creative expression or style, making an
impact on succeeding generations of
artists;

4.Artists who have created a significant

body of works and/or have consistently
displayed excellence in the practice of their
art form, enriching artistic expression or
5.Artists who enjoy broad
acceptance through prestigious
national and/or international
recognition, awards in prestigious
national and/or international events,
critical acclaim and/or reviews of
their works, and/or respect and
esteem from peers within an artistic
discipline.
 individuals who have made significant
contributions to the development of
Philippine arts, namely: Music, Dance,
Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film,
Broadcast Arts, and Architecture and Allied
Arts. The order is jointly administered by the
National Commission for Culture and the
Arts and the Cultural Center of the
Philippines and conferred by the President
of the Philippines upon recommendation by
both institutions.
cheque immediately after the ceremony;
a minimum lifetime personal monthly
stipend of PHP 50,000; medical and
hospitalization benefits not exceeding
PHP 750,000; coverage by a life
insurance policy by the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS); a state
funeral; a place of honour in state
functions, national commemoration
ceremonies, and all other cultural
presentation.
Gemino Abad
National Artist for Literature, 2022
University Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Letters
(2004)
Director, Creative Writing Center (1995-1998)
 Gemino Abad
• Abad, who is known for his works Fugitive
Emphasis (1973), In Another Light (1976), The Space
Between (1985), A Makeshift Sun (2001), and more,
stressed that language is not just limited to words.

• “Every language is sacred. All the arts have their own

language. What do you suppose is the language of
music? Most certainly, not just the words. What is the
language of sculpture? Of architecture? All the arts,
they have their respective language to communicate,
to express,” he said.
 Gemino Abad
• He further explained that to be able to grasp the true power
of language, one must first understand the difference
between communication and expression. “When you
communicate with language, you say your words. But when
you sing or paint, for example, you express, and expression
means you have to focus and really know yourself – from
where are you drawing from? What are you trying to
communicate?”

• According to Abad, a man must look into the deepest layers

of his skin to know what it is that he truly wants to
communicate.
 Gemino Abad
• “The psyche is the human consciousness; that is your
inner self, that is your spirit, and that is your soul.
[When you express], you are drawing from yourself
and therefore you should also know the difference
between ‘meaning’ and ‘meaningfulness,’”
• “To have meaning is to make sense of something,
while to be meaningful is to achieve a certain depth in
your consciousness. To get a grasp of what is real,
what is true and what is right,” he explained.
Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
National Artist for Music, 2022
Professor Emeritus, College of Music (1997
Fides Cuyugan-Asensio
• Opera singer, teacher, stage and film actor and
librettist Fides Cuyugan-Asensio is new National
Artist for Music.

• In 1986, Fides Asensio formed the Music Theater

Foundation of the Philippines (MTFP), a non-profit
organization dedicated to promote, stage, and give
scholarships to young classical performers. In 1988,
she was appointed Chairman of Voice and Music
Theater Department at the U.P.
Ricardo “Ricky” Lee
National Artist for Film and Broadcast
Arts, 2022
Ricky Lee is best known for being a script
writer. In fact he is the Philippines’
greatest and most prolific screenwriter,
having written almost 200 screenplays,
including classics such as “Brutal” (1980)
and “Karnal” (1983), both directed by
Marilou Diaz-Abaya; “Himala” (1982), by
Ishmael Bernal; “Macho Dancer” (1988), by
Lino Brocka; and “José Rizal” (1998), again,
by Diaz-Abaya.
Agnes Locsin
National Artist for Dance, 2022
Senior Lecturer, College of Music (June
1985 – May 1992)
 Agnes Locsin
She is known for developing the
"neo-ethnic" Filipino dance
choreography which is done by
"blending indigenous themes
with Western classical and
modern techniques". Among the
works where she applied this
choreography are Encantada, La
Revolucion Filipina, Sayaw,
Sabel and the four-part Alay sa
 Antonio “Tony” Mabesa
National Artist for Theater, 2022
Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and
Letters (2002)
Antonio “Tony” Mabesa, known as
the Lion of the Theater, was a
director, actor, and teacher
who greatly contributed to the
growth and diversity of Philippine
theater. His theater teaching,
formalism as aesthetics, and
methods of production have made
an impact on his students.
Carlos P. Romulo
National Artist for Literature, 1982
UP President (1962-1968)
Carlos P. Romulo was a Filipino
diplomat, statesman, journalist, and
soldier who made many contributions
to Philippine literature. He was the first
Filipino Pulitzer Prize winner and first
Asian president of the UN General
Assembly
This is the story of seventeen million Filipinos
who cast their lot with America when the hour of
danger struck for the American flag. It is the
story of seven thousand American soldiers and
seventy-five thousand Filipinos against two
hundred fifty thousand Japanese - a hopeless
fight by men who gradually lost hope as their
numbers shrank and more Japanese poured
down the hills and scaled the cliffs of Bataan. I
saw Filipino boys I knew and loved blown to
shreds before my eyes - as one American soldier
put it, "trapped like rats but dying like men."
 Napoleon V. Abueva
National Artist for Visual Arts, 1976
Dean, College of Fine Arts (1978 – 1989
Abueva (1930-2018) was recognized as
the Father of Modern Philippine
Sculpture. His modernist approach can
be seen in his exploration of various
media such as molave, acacia, langka,
ipil, kamagong, palm, adobe, cement,
marble, bronze, iron, brass, among
others.
The Transfiguration
Jovita Fuentes
National Artist for Music, 1976
Conservatory of Music
Jovita Fuentes (1895-1978) is
considered to have been the first
notable Filipina operatic soprano.
Hailed as “The Maestra” among
Filipinos, she was respected as a
world-renowned singer, teacher,
song arranger, and a dedicated arts
advocate.
Francisca Reyes Aquino, PhD
National Artist for Dance, 1973
Professor, Physical Education
Physical Director for Women (1930
Francisca Reyes Aquino is acknowledged
as the Folk Dance Pioneer. -Reyes-
Aquino discovered and taught dances
through her books such as Tinikling,
Maglalatik, Lubi-lubi, Polka sa Nayon. -She
served as supervisor of physical education
at the Bureau of Education in the 1940s.
Antonio J. Molina
National Artist for Music,1973
Professor, Conservatory of Music
According to the Philippine National
Commission for Culture and the Arts,
Molina is credited for introducing the
whole tone scale, linear counterpoint,
pentatonic scale, dominant ninths. and
eleventh chords, especially in local
Filipino music.
Guillermo Tolentino
“The Father of Philippine Arts”
National Artist for Visual Arts, 1973
Professor Emeritus, College of Fine
Arts
Director, School of Fine Arts (1953-
1955)
Guillermo Tolentino
represents the National Artist Awards for
Sculpture in 1973. He is consider as the
“Father of Philippine Arts” because of his
great works like the famous “Bonifacio
Monument” symbolizing Filipinos cry for
freedom located in intersection of EDSA
and Rizal Avenue and “The Oblation” in
UP signifying academic freedom .
“Bonifacio Monument” “The Oblation”
 Fernando C. Amorsolo
National Artist for Visual Arts, 1972
Director, School of Fine Arts (1938-1952
Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto (b. 1892,
d. 1972) was the Philippines’ first
National Artist and is officially recognized
as the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art”.
Renowned for his trademark luminosity
and ability to render the iconic provincial
Filipina, Amorsolo’s paintings usually
feature scenes in glowing rural
landscapes--- such as farmers ankle-deep
in rice fields, women in colorful baro’t
Fernando C. Amorsolo
 Lauro “Larry” Alcala
Amelia Lapeña-
Bonifacio Benedicto ‘Bencab’
Raymundo “Ryan” Cabrera
Cipriano P. Cayabyab Bienvenido Lumbera,
Resil B. Mojares PhD
Kidlat Tahimik Ildefonso Santos Jr. (I.P.
Francisco F. Feliciano, Santos)
DMA Virgilio S. Almario,
Ramon P. Santos, PhD PhD (Rio Alma)
Felipe de Leon Jose T. Joya
N.V.M. Gonzalez, PhD Andrea O. Veneracion
Antonino R. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero