Don Papa Art Competition Announces Winners

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Since its launch in 2012, Bleeding Heart Rum Company, makers of Don Papa Rum has made waves in the spirits industry, both locally and internationally.

Don Papa recognizes that there is a commonality between its own design aesthetic and the works created by the Philippine artistic community – bold, complex, and multifaceted. The first ever Don Papa Art Competition aimed to engage the artistic community and harness their creativity by way of conducting a visual arts competition.

The Don Papa Art Competition was an open call to Filipino artists to reimagine the Don Papa secondary packaging design. The art competition was launched last November 11, 2015 at the Bonbon Club in an intimate party gathering media, art galleries, curators, and artists. The artists were encouraged to go beyond the current art work and reinterpret its design based on their own notions of the island of Negros, Papa Isio, and of course the rum itself.

The artists entered the competition through an online registration and were required to submit different mediums. The artists were given a 10-week period to complete and submit their artworks to the Don Papa Rum headquarters.

Among all the entries submitted, a preliminary judging process was conducted to evaluate which of the artworks will be selected as the Top 10 Finalists of the competition. The best 10 artworks were featured during a five (5) day exhibit at the recently concluded Art Fair Philippines last February 17-21, 2016, wherein art fair goers were also engaged to place a vote for the People’s Choice entry. The finalists were submitted to a final judging process by a judging panel consisting of prominent figures in the art community and Stranger & Stranger, assembled by the Don Papa Rum team.
 
The Don Papa Art Competition winner was announced at a gathering last February 20, 2016 during the Art Fair Philippines, inviting all artists who made it to the Top 10, their gallery representatives, and Don Papa Rum guests.

The People’s Choice Award was given to Renz Bautista of Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery for his artwork entitled “Florence of Endeavor”, with a modern interpretation of Don Papa Rum using acrylic on canvas.

Second Runner Up was awarded to Anjo Bolarda, also an artist of Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery with his artwork “Untitled”, which made use of charcoal, graphite and ink with an intricate illustration of his interpretation of Don Papa Rum. 

 
First Runner Up was awarded to Bacolod based artist, Barry Cervantes of Orange Gallery with his artwork entitled “Don Papa and the Babaylan”, taking inspiration from Binalbagan, the origin of the Babaylan revolution which Papa Isio started. Barry made use of acrylic on canvas for his interpretation.

Finally, the winning artwork was awarded to Riel Hilario of The Drawing Room Gallery with his artwork entitled “ The Spiritual Landscape of Papa Isio”, an artwork, according to him, came from his dream of Papa Isio. Making use of acrylic and photo-emulsion image transfer on canvas, Riel Hilario’s inspiration for his artwork from Alfonso Ossorio’s the Angry Christ and a playful reference to “talking to the spirits” by using the visual composition of the spiritual talking board, also known as a Ouija board.

As the winner of the first ever Don Papa Rum Art Competition, Riel Hilario will be granted a 4-week Artistic Residency Sojourn in Paris, France courtesy of Don Papa Rum, complete with art museum passes, airfare and accommodations, pocket money, and a year supply of Don Papa Rum. Aside from this, his gallery representative will also be awarded a trip to Paris, France and Don Papa Rum sponsorship to their major events for 2016.

Riel Hilario’s artwork will be released as the visual basis Don Papa Rum’s official limited edition secondary packaging, the canister, by October 2016 in the Philippines and all the other Don Papa markets. Upon the recommendation of Stranger and Stranger, Don Papa Rum’s design agency, the company has decided to release the artworks made by Barry Cervantes, Anjo Bolarda, and Renz Bautista as the visual basis of a series of limited edition secondary packaging for Don Papa Rum over the course of the next eighteen (18) months.

Frequently Asked Questions  

1. Who were the chosen Top 10 Finalists of the Don Papa Art Competition  

Below are the names of the Top 10 Finalists, their galleries, and titles of their Artwork (arranged in alphabetical order)  

2. What were the prizes for the ones that placed in the competition?  

a. People’s Choice Award - Php 10,000  - 1 case (12 bottles) of Don Papa Rum 

Visual basis for Don Papa Rum limited edition canister series for the next 18 months, international distribution - Feature in Don Papa Rum digital and print materials for 2016 

 

b. Second Runner Up - Php 25,000  - 1 case (12 bottles) of Don Papa Rum - Visual basis for Don Papa Rum limited edition canister series for the next 18 months, international distribution - Feature in Don Papa Rum digital and print materials for 2016   

c. First Runner Up - Php 50,000  - 2 cases (24 bottles) of Don Papa Rum - Visual basis for Don Papa Rum limited edition canister series for the next 18 months, international distribution - Feature in Don Papa Rum digital and print materials for 2016  

d. Winner - 4-week Artistic Residency Sojourn in Paris, France - Airfare and Accommodations - Tickets to Art galleries and museums in Paris France - Per Diem - 2 cases (24 bottles of Don Papa Rum) - Visual basis for Don Papa Rum limited edition canister to be released on October 2016, international distribution - Feature in Don papa Rum digital and print materials 2016