In-person workshop this October 2025 at PKL Center, Makati City
Facilitated by Pristine de Leon
Apply here: https://bit.ly/klfi-acww2025-apply
Deadline of application: September 12, 2025
Purita Kalaw-Ledesma long championed the role of art criticism in the Philippines. As president of the Art Association of the Philippines, she supported its inclusion in the AAP annual competitions as early as 1954. This commitment continued with the first independent Kalaw-Ledesma Art Criticism Awards in 1990 and, later, through KLFI’s partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery in 2014.
On the occasion of the prizes’ 10th year in 2024, KLFI introduced a writing workshop as part of the public program of the anniversary exhibition. Given the encouraging response to last year’s edition, we are continuing the initiative this year to further build a platform for skill-building and mentoring for emerging art critics.
As Purita emphasized in her introduction to Selections ‘90, the publication accompanying the first awards, “After progressively developing awareness, interest and love for art, the next step, I believe, is to develop discrimination. This involves greater recognition of art criticism. Trained in the history and the aesthetics of art, critics guide both artists towards new directions and public taste toward the best in past and current artistic output.”
This year’s workshop continues that same spirit of nurturing art criticism as a vital part of the country’s art ecosystem.
About the Facilitator
Pristine L. de Leon’s art criticism practice is informed by her experience in new journalism, art scholarship, and an inclination towards creative writing.
Since receiving the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize in Art Criticism at the Ateneo Art Awards in 2016, she has written reviews and features on visual art and theater as an art columnist in The Philippine Star and as a contributor for ArtsEquator and Art & Market’s Check-In 2022. She has written art history essays for the Singapore Art Museum’s Stories section and the Museum of Modern Art’s post platform.
Her fascination with the shape-shifting figure of the art critic led her to become part of the first Asian Arts Media Roundtable convened by ArtsEquator in Singapore in 2019 and of the Critical Ecologies | Critical Anomalies collective, an online residency hosted by Centre 42. In 2020, she was the recipient of the Emerging Writers Fellowship organized by Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia, which published her research on public art and collaboration.
She is currently a lecturer at the Fine Arts Department of the Ateneo de Manila University.
In 2024, she was one of the jurors of the Ateneo Art Awards – Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism.
Who Can Apply
This workshop is open to emerging art writers based in the Philippines. We welcome anyone who believes they are still in the early stages of developing their art writing practice.
Applicants must be able to attend the lecture and workshop sessions in person at the PKL Center in Makati this October.
What to Submit
Interested applicants must submit the following requirements through the Google Form: https://bit.ly/klfi-acww2025-apply
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Letter of Intent addressed to Ms. Anne Marie Ozaeta, KLFI President
- Topic and angles/points of discussion of your planned art review
- State your chosen exhibition that was on view from January to September 2025, which you will be writing about during the workshop. Any medium or genre within the visual arts is accessible.
- While we acknowledge that art criticism can also take many forms, including commentaries on trends or issue-topic articles, this workshop emphasizes the value of sustained looking. For this reason, we encourage participants to ground their work in an exhibition.
Applicants are expected to produce a new piece of writing during the workshop. Existing works, such as previously published essays or entries submitted to the Ateneo Art Awards – PKL Prizes in Art Criticism, cannot be used as the workshop output.
Participation
- A selection committee from KLFI, including Pristine de Leon, will review the applications.
- To ensure a focused learning environment and personalized feedback, the workshop will accept 7-10 participants. To allow for more in-depth discussion, the feedback part will be divided into two sessions.
- Accepted applicants will be notified by the third week of September. They must confirm their participation by paying the workshop fee of ₱2,500 (via cash or bank transfer).
- The workshop fee is inclusive of:
- Workshop kit, including selected essays and materials
- Snacks and water for three half-day sessions
Workshop Structure
Phase 1 – Lecture
- Oct 4, 2025 (Saturday), 1:00-5:00 PM: In-person lecture at the PKL Center led by Pristine de Leon.
Phase 2 – Writing period
- Writing period, with consultation with the facilitator.
- Oct 19, 2025 (Sunday), 11:59 PM: Deadline of writing output (maximum of 2,000 words, submitted in Word format).
Phase 3 – Review period
- Oct 20–24, 2025: Review period. Facilitator and participants will read and prepare for the feedback sessions.
Phase 4 – Feedback sessions
- Oct 25, 2025 (Saturday), 1:00-5:00 PM: First part of the in-person feedback session.
- Part 2 of the feedback session will be scheduled either on Oct 27, 2025 (Monday) or Oct 29, 2025 (Wednesday), depending on participants’ availability.
We would like to thank the supporters of KLFI’s donation drive for partially subsidizing this program.
For inquiries, kindly email us at contact@klfi.ph.