It’s back, it’s on and it’s better than ever. The 29th Visual Arts Competition – one of the longest running student art competitions in the country has opened its doors once again for aspiring student photographers ages 15-24.
Started in 1987, the Visual Arts Competition (or VAC), run by Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC) alongside the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), has been a celebration of creativity and artistic expression among students.
Now, on its 29th year, the VAC is still utilizing the powerful medium of photography. Seeing a rise in student participation since it introduced this medium more than 3 years ago, the 29th VAC expects to draw the same (if not more) number of participants this time around especially with now more focused support of the schools.
Like with previous years, the primary mode of submission is online through their official website www.visualarts.ph. This time around, the organizers of the 29th VAC sought out various schools to help gather their student’s participating entries. This involves college and high school faculty members incorporating VAC 29 into their curricular or extra-curricular activities and requirements. In fact, in a pre-launch round of consultations with select schools (e.g. faculty members of Far Eastern University, the University of Santo Tomas, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University High School and Loyola Schools, La Salle Greenhills, and University of San Carlos) have expressed strong interest in encouraging their students with photography-related courses to make VAC 29 submissions as part of their semestral requirements.
The theme this year is centered on the dichotomy of “Past Meets Present”. During the event launch which happened last January 21, 2015 at the SM North Edsa Annex Building, Ms. Julieta ‘Chinky’ Tañeca, VP for Consumer Business Systems and Support Management at PLDT, expounding on the theme, fittingly traced the heritage of the VAC from the time it propelled many young artistic talents in the field of painting and mixed media to its shift to the modern medium of digital photography three years ago.
On the official website, the competition poses this challenge to the student:
“The Philippines exists simultaneously in several time frames. Ancient structures and traditions co-exist, for instance, with 20th century kitsch and pop, as well as today’s icons of high technology and fashion. The challenge is to capture this blend of past and present—whether conflicting or harmonious, amusing or sublime—in images that can inspire fresh ways of seeing our country and our culture.”
Aside from artistic merits, the VAC is a photography-lover’s dream competition for the following reasons:
- Your work plastered on the cover of the 2015-2016 PLDT Directories – which means instant recognition of work to millions of Filipinos.
- And the insane cash prizes this time around. Check the chart below. Wew.
The great thing about the VAC, especially if you fit the student criteria, is that all you really need is a good eye and a decent camera. With point-and-shoot cameras becoming more and more powerful, virtually anyone can join.
Looking at official rules, the only limitation is that the at least a 10-megapixel camera must be able to produce high-res images of 8×12” (vertical) or 12×8” (horizontal). A Samsung NX Mini goes up to 20.8 megapixels and, heck, most smart phone cameras range from 10-13 megapixels. Nokia’s Lumia 1020 and 1520 may be able to compete as well – of course you’ll have to be extremely good to produce high resolution shots on a phone camera (we don’t really recommend it for photo competitions but just stating that technology is catching up real quick for the need to invest heavily on stand-alone photo equipment especially if you’re not going to be devoting most of your professional time for it).
Aside from the competition proper, once the top 50 finalist have been listed down, they are all subjected to a People’s Choice Award. While, it’s an extra hassle for you to campaign your work (if it gets in), that’s also extra coverage for your hard-earned shot. If you win, that’s an additional Php 25,000.00.
All-in-all, we’re encouraging our readers who are qualified to join.
Deadline of submission ends on Feb 24, 2014 at 11:59 PM. For official rules and mechanics kindly check www.visualarts.ph and to stay updated on the competition do check their FB page out www.facebook.com/visualartsph. :p Good luck, folks!
