Philip Moore’s works to be catalogued

Winners of the reinvigorated Guyana Visual Arts Competition that attracted over 200 entries for painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and photography were honoured at an award ceremony on Friday, at the National Cultural Centre (NCC).
President Donald Ramotar, who launched the competition in July, and whose patronage led to the re-launch of what will now become a biennial event on the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s calendar, was on hand to present prizes to the winners. Among the prizes were: First place: Gy$500,000, and a gold medal; the runner-up prize of Gy$300,000 and a silver medal; and third place prize of Gy$200,000 and a bronze medal. There were also a special Promise Award to a young artist and the Judges’ Special Award.
In the category of painting, George Simon won first place for his entry “Homage to Wilson Harris”; in sculpture, Gary Thomas for his piece “Lifeline Integration” and in drawing, Michael Griffith for “Through the Canvas”. Nikhil Ramkarran walked away with the top photography prize.
Aneeza Coelho won the Promise Award and Akima McPherson, the Judges’ Special Award for her piece “Walk with Me”. She walked away with Gy$200,000.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously given to sculptor of the 1763 Monument “Cuffy”, the late Philip Alphonso Moore AA. The citation was received by his daughter Corine Munroe.
At the end of her acceptance speech on behalf of the Moore family, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony announced that the ministry will allocate Gy$1 million to catalogue the work of the late artist.
The participants of this year’s competition were required to submit no more than three pieces done within two to five years of the competition, in the categories of painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and photography to the Burrowes School of Art.
Award-winning artist, poet, musician and art critic Stanley Greaves, the chairman of the panel of judges, said the entries in the category of ceramics and textile were uninspiring, and called on the school system to give “supreme importance” to art education.
President Ramotar described the competition as a vehicle to uncover the imaginative side of life in a country that gives priority to the economic well-being of its population.
“While we correctly pursue economic development for all Guyanese, we recognise that another source of wealth is our creative imagination. Indeed, art helps to add quality to our lives and the need for this will continue to grow as the society satisfies more and more of its material needs,” President Ramotar said.