27th Prestigious Art Contest Eduardo León Jimenes Announces this Year’s Winners

The awards announced represent three equal awards; two editorial awards; one award issued to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Centro León and two Art Residences. In total, 20 works were presented by 18 individual artists and one artist collective.

Santiago, January 18, 2019 – Baltasar Alí, Wendy V. Muñiz, Guillermo Zouain and Zerahias Polanco were the top winners of the 27th Eduardo León Jimenes Art Contest. The awards ceremony was held at the prestigious art center, situated in Santiago, the country’s second largest city. Madeline Jiménez, Karmadavis and Laura Castro received special and editorial awards.

Baltasar Alí received an award for his work I’m Bringing the Party to You. The collective formed by Wendy V. Muñiz and Guillermo Zouain received an award for their entry, titled Esperábamos a que anocheciera (unofficial translation: “We Waited for Night to Fall”). Zerahias Polanco for his work ¡Si me voy de aquí me muero! (unofficial translation: “If I Leave Here I’ll Die”). The three awards issued came with a US$10,000 cash award and diplomas.

Madeline Jiménez was recognized with an editorial award for her work ¿Si el Modernismo se implanta con la primacía de líneas rectas y limpias, que sucedería si por la naturaleza de éstas, se transformaran en líneas curvas y grasientas? (unofficial translation: “If Modernism is Introduced with Straight and Clean Lines, What Would Happen if They Transformed into Curved and Greasy Lines?”) Karmadavis was recognized with an editorial award for his work La isla dentro de la isla (unofficial translation: “The Island Within the Island”).

Laura Castro was recognized with the Centro León’s 15th Anniversary Award for her entry, titled Remodelaciones (unofficial translation: “Remodeling”). The award will also facilitate her participation as an artist and panelist in the Tout-Monde Festival in Miami, and facilitate her introduction to the city’s vibrant artistic scene through visits to museums, galleries, meetings with curators and meeting with other participating artists.
Eliazar Ortiz was issued a special award by the Museo Memorial ACTe de Guadaloupe, co-sponsored by the French Embassy in Santo Domingo and the French territory of Guadaloupe. Jacques Martial, the Museum’s director general, highlighted the artistic contributions of the work Ellxs, Nosotrxs y Todxs.

Patricia Encarnación received a special award issued by Tropiques Atrium, an artistic institution in Martinique. Vincent Gleizes, from the French Embassy in Santo Domingo and in representation of Tropiques Atrium, awarded her entry Limerencia Tropical the special award.

The award ceremony was headed by María Elena Aguayo, who represented Dr. María Amalia León de Jorge, General Director of the Eduardo León Jimenes Foundation and the Centro León. The members of the jury were Emiliano Valdés and José Luis Blondet, along with Franklin León Herbert, president of Cervecería Nacional Dominicana, and representatives from seven representatives from the Leon family: León Asensio: Alfonso Aguayo León, Fernando Arturo León Herbert, Isabel León de Bisonó, Silvia Corrie León, Clarissa Brugal León and Lidia León Cabral.

“We are very pleased with the fact that after 27 annual contests and 55 years since its founding, the Art Contest has become stronger in each particular contest and more important in its contemporary status, and preserve its vitality as a result of the continuous investigation and monitoring of the changes taking place in art and culture, contest after contest, and for more than five decades,” stated Aguayo during her opening remarks.

Speaking for the jurors, José Luis Blondet stated that “…the jury of the 27th Eduardo León Jimenes Art Contest highlights the variety of techniques, concerns and formal languages in the works presented during this particular edition, and the richness of formats that allow for the accompaniment, exchange and strengthening of the individual practices through a dialogue and dialogue and the feedback with the team of curators from the Centro León.”

The winning works of art will be exhibited until April 28, 2019.
The contest is sponsored by the Fundación Eduardo León Jimenes and Cervecería Nacional Dominicana.

The contest celebrates the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Centro León, an institution that began thanks to the efforts carried out by the León Asensio brothers. The goal of the museum is to highlight the artistic and cultural richness of the Dominican Republic, and promote the development of the country through its cultural education.

The Art Contest

In 1964, E. León Jimenes announced the first Eduardo León Jimenes Art Contest. In five decades, 27 art contests have been held and 196 artists have been distinguished through these events.

From its very beginning, the contest has as its main goal the promotion of the creativity and cultural values of the Dominican Republic and its artists.
Source: https://centroleon.org.do