• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Students from La Consolacion College Bacolod and the University of St. La Salle were declared champions in the Victorias Milling Company (VMC) interschool art competition secondary and elementary levels, respectively, during the awarding ceremony at Acacia Hotel Bacolod Nov. 25.
Jhodie May Salomon of LCC-B was the champion in the on-the-spot art contest finale secondary level, and took home P30,000 in cash and trophy. Her school received an LED television.
Kris Edward Belaguas of the USLS, meanwhile, took home the championship prize of P20,000 and a trophy in the elementary level. His school also received an LED TV.
Other winners in the secondary category are Stephen Jay Gallano of La Castellana National High School, who received P20,000 and trophy as first runner-up, and Erin Ysabelle Dosayla, also of LCC-B, who bagged P10,000 and trophy as second runner-up.
Bear Jay Bermeo of LCC-B, and Adrian Andrade of Enrique B. Magalona National High School each won P5,000 as consolation prize winners.
Heart Sta. Maria of Silay South Elementary School was first runner-up in the elementary level, and took home P15,000 in cash prize and trophy, while Zhyenaiah Tonogbanua of Shiloh Christian School Inc. bagged P10,000 and trophy as second runner-up winner.
Sheena Rain Reyes of the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos and Sophia Emerald Caminong of Gil Lopez Elementary School received P5,000 each in consolation prize.
This year’s on-the-spot contest theme, “My Role in Society”, aims to drive the value of growth and development among the youth, and what they think their role should be in their community, our society, and in nation-building in general, the VMC said.
VMC Foundation executive director, Anne Tiongco, said at the awarding ceremony that the company and the foundation “remain committed to promoting the artistic and cultural development of the youth through this annual interschool art contest.”
No other competition in the Philippines offers such opportunity to the young in the field of visual arts, Tiongco said. “We hope that through this exercise, our youth may realize that each one of them is important, needed, and has value, in the formation of a progressive and inclusive society.”
VMC president, Engr. Linley Retirado, said, “We believe that engaging the youth in arts at an early age helps develop their creativity, identity, culture, and imagination. This also impacts positively on their confidence, self-esteem, personal, social, emotional development, and behavioral health.”
Arts is part of our cultural heritage and we have a duty to preserve it, he added. “Arts and culture is at the core of our projects because situated in the VMC compound is one of the most treasured cultural properties in the country — the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel. This drives our pursuit of art and cultural excellence in the region, recognizing the role that the arts can play in defining our identity as a nation.”
Sixty-two students from more than 130 entries were chosen to join the competition this year during the preliminary judging Nov. 13. The 62 then competed in the on-the-spot contest Nov. 25, with the 10 winners chosen and awarded that night.
The VMC earlier said all finalists will be invited to attend next year’s summer art workshop where they will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one mentorship with professional visual artists as part of the program’s continuing education to nurture art talents and inculcate among the youth the love and importance of preserving Negrense heritage through visual arts. | CGC
