After an intensive selection process and deliberations, the Cultural Center of the Philippines just revealed the individuals and organizations that will receive the prestigious Gawad CCP Para sa Sining 2024. Recipients are voted by the CCP Board of Trustees after a rigorous nomination and deliberation process.

The Gawad CCP Para sa Sining is the highest award given by CCP to artists or cultural groups in dance, music, theater, film and broadcast arts, literature, visual arts, architecture, and allied arts and design who have/had consistently produced outstanding works in their particular art form or have/had evolved a distinct style or technique that enriches the development of their particular art form.

The award also recognizes artists or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the culture of the region of their birth or residence, as well as outstanding cultural workers who, through their works either in research, curatorship, arts management, or administration, have helped to develop or enrich particular art forms or Philippine culture in general.

A special award, the Tanging Parangal ng CCP, is given to individuals or organizations in the government and/or private sector for their outstanding services, efforts, and/or contributions that have significantly affected the development and support of the arts and/or other cultural activities in the country.

The awardees for Category A are Generoso “Gener” Caringal for his choreographic works that integrate ballet, modern dance, and folk dance, enriching Philippine dance; Jose Iñigo Homer “Joey” Ayala, cited for his works as a composer, songwriter, and singer that popularized the use of indigenous musical instruments in the contemporary idiom, contributing greatly to the development of Philippine music; Maria Lea Carmen Salonga, for her achievements as a performing artist who has been recognized both nationally and internationally, putting the Philippines on the global theater map; Jose Lacaba Jr. for his outstanding works as a poet, essayist, screenwriter, and journalist, contributing to the development of Philippine literature; Miguel “Mike” de Leon for his outstanding works as director, writer, producer, and cinematographer, enabling the advancement of filmmaking in the Philippines; the late Mario O’Hara for his outstanding work as director, actor, and writer that enriched the development of film and broadcast arts in the country; Julie Lluch for her terracotta sculptures that mirror and reflect the wisdom she had acquired as she took on different life roles, initiating a resurgence in artmaking in the Philippines; and Gino Gonzales for his use of non-conventional and everyday industrial and commercial materials, experiments with space, as well as his promotion of the Philippine terno.

For Category B, the award goes to Loboc Children’s Choir for their performances that promote the heritage of Bohol and show the significance of using and preserving local heritage. Through their music, they have strengthened and promoted the cultural identity of the Boholanons and the Filipino people.

Category C recipient is Marilyn Gamboa for her outstanding contributions as a cultural administrator that have helped sustain cultural institutions and programs in Negros Occidental. Through her works, she enriches Negrense culture in particular and Philippine culture in general.

Edgardo J. Angara and Zenaida “Nedy” R. Tantoco will receive posthumously the Tanging Parangal ng CCP.

Angara, or SEJA, as he was fondly called in the political circle, was known for his outstanding services as an arts advocate and supporter of Philippine culture and the arts, significantly affecting the development of arts and other cultural activities in the country.

On the other hand, Tantoco had been a staunch supporter of Philippine arts and culture. Her philanthropic works have greatly benefited the CCP, its resident companies, and its employees. As CCP trustee, she was able to raise funds for new musical instruments and regular repairs of the musical instruments of the PPO musicians.

The awardees will receive a citation, a medal, and a cash gift of P50,000 (for living awardees). The awarding ceremony is slated for 20 September, 7 p.m., at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater.