More than just a prize: The art of trophy making for CCP Thirteen Artists Awards

Trophies are usually seen as symbols embodying ideals like excellence, perseverance, and honor. They transform struggles and achievements into a tangible, visual experience. But more than just marking one’s victory, trophies are works of art themselves, crafted with intention, symbolism, and care.

A well-designed trophy tells inspiring stories and carries the weight of institutions, traditions, and memory, functioning as both relic and representation. Through its design elements, shapes, materials and forms, a trophy can communicate values, construct identity, and immortalize excellence. 

In The Art of the Trophy: A Dialogue Between the Artists, a public program organized by the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division in relation to the prestigious CCP Thirteen Artists Awards (TAA), visual artists Juan Alcazaren, Gary-Ross Pastrana, and Eric Zamuco interrogate the trophy not simply as a prize object, but as an artwork in its own right. 

Looking at the trophy as visual artwork that intersects with traditions of monumentality, material culture, and design history, the three artists behind the uniquely designed trophies given to previous batches of CCP TAA shared their insights into their creative concepts, personal experiences throughout the process, and the deeper significance of both the trophy and its creation. 

Moderated by artist-designer Stanley Ruiz, the public conversation was part of the Creative Continuum: Thirteen Artists Awards 1970–2024 exhibition, which ran until May 18, 2025 at the Bulwagang Roberto Chabet, located at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez in CCP Complex in Pasay City.

Art of Trophy Making
Growing up surrounded by trophies, Alcarazen was thrilled when he was invited to design the trophy for the CCP TAA 2015. His design drew inspiration from his own TAA trophy from 2000, which was created by artist Dan Raralio. 

Like Raralio’s work, Alcazaren’s trophy featured the nameplate cutting through the center of the piece. What set his design apart was the personal touch he added to each trophy, resonating the uniqueness of each awardee. 

Six years after receiving his CCP TAA trophy in 2006, Pastrana was commissioned to create the trophy for the 2012 edition of the prestigious visual arts award. Taking a more industrial approach, Pastrana was inspired by observing a pocket survival kit being sold on the street. It sparked an idea of crafting a trophy as a collection of an artist’s essential tools for survival, symbolizing what every artist needs to thrive.

Zamuco, a CCP TAA 2003 recipient, developed the trophy design inspired by the social climate of 2018, marked by the war on drugs, human rights abuses, and the distortion of history. He designed the trophy to resemble a history book being bound, drawing a parallel to the images of human rights victims being tied and restrained.

The Artists 
Alcazaren is a sculptor, bricoleur, collagist, and object maker who utilizes a diverse array of materials, from construction steel and industrial scrap to everyday objects like plastic monoblock chairs, school supplies, and melaware plates. In the 90s, he learned steel welding under the guidance of National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva, and since then, he has consistently returned to this medium, drawn to the way steel seems to dictate its own form.
Pastrana is a contemporary artist whose work delves into themes of time, memory, and the subtle transformation of everyday materials through conceptual and often poetic gestures. His interdisciplinary practice encompasses sculpture, installation, collage, writing, performance, and design.

Zamuco works across diverse media such as sculpture, installation, photography, drawing, video, and performance, his practice functions both as social commentary and a form of self-reflection. His practices span a wide range of concerns, including dislocation, identity, post-colonial narratives, spirituality, geopolitics, and the reclamation of space. 

The 2024 CCP Thirteen Artists Awards
The TAA 2024 trophy will be created by Patricia Perez Eustaquio, recipient of the TAA in 2009 and a multidisciplinary artist known for her expansive body of work. Her medium spans from paintings, drawings, sculptures, and fashion, among others, which she uses to explore current themes of perception, materiality, and the vanity of objects.

The CCP Thirteen Artists Awards honors young visual artists whose innovative practice has contributed to the development and expansion of contemporary Philippine art. The awardees for CCP TAA 2024 are Catalina Africa, Denver Garza, Russ Ligtas, Ella Mendoza, Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwangan, Issay Rodriguez, Luis Antonio Santos, Joshua Serafin, Jel Suarez, Tekla Tamoria, Derek Tumala, Vien Valencia, and Liv Vinluan.

For more information about the CCP Thirteen Artists Awards, visit the Thirteen Artists website (thirteenartists.culturalcenter.gov.ph), the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph), and follow the official CCP and CCP VAMD social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube.