CEBU CITY – For several years, the Manila Bulletin Sketchfest has provided aspiring artists an avenue to showcase their creative minds.
And for these two young artists, it is also through the annual on-the-spot poster-making competition that they get to show their indomitable spirit.
Angel Lynne dela Cerna and Remuel dela Cruz finally got the job done after several failed attempts as they won in their respective divisions of the MB Sketchfest Cebu leg on Saturday, September 2, at SM Seaside City Cebu here.
Dela Cerna won the Junior Category while Dela Cruz topped the Senior Category.
Winning the Kiddie Division was Samantha Ysabel Elumbaring.
The 16-year-old Dela Cerna, a Grade 11 student of the Mandaue Comprehensive National High School, disclosed that it was her fifth time to join the MB Sketchfest.
“In my first three participations, I did not win then last year, I was able to finish second,” said Dela Cerna.
Despite not winning the title in her first four attempts, Dela Cerna said her interest in joining the MB Sketchfest did not wane.
In fact, the series of failed attempts even fanned Dela Cerna’s desire to compete in MB Sketchfest.
“I was not discouraged because I really wanted to try. It’s a very fun competition and it’s a challenge on how you would convince the eyes of the judges,” said Dela Cerna.
The opportunity to showcase her skills is something that Dela Cerna looks forward to when competing in the MB Sketchfest.
“It inspires me to show my skills to everyone,” she said.
For the 23-year-old Dela Cruz, it was a case of fourth time the charm for him.
The Bukidnon native said he first joined the MB Sketchfest during its Davao leg in 2017 and failed to get a podium finish.
Dela Cerna then joined the next two Cebu City legs but also fell short.
“I did not get discouraged because for me, it's a form of having fun,” said Dela Cruz.
The freelance artist said it didn’t cross his mind to stop joining the competition despite the repeated unsuccessful attempts.
“Every time that I was able to join, I considered myself a winner already. It’s the experience that I’m after and winning it is already a bonus,” said Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz relishes joining the MB Sketchfest, saying it is a rare opportunity to showcase his skills.
“This is such a good experience even if you don’t win. Even if you don’t make it to the top, being able to join is already something because this is very rare, this is just once a year,” said Dela Cruz.
Unlike Dela Cerna and Dela Cruz, the 12-year-Elumbaring, a Grade 6 pupil of the Mandaue City School for the Arts, didn’t have to wait long to triumph in the MB Sketchfest.
“It’s my first time joining and it's very fun and amazing. I’m very happy to win first place. I was also able to learn a lot from other artists,” said Elumbaring.
Finishing second in the kiddie competition was Trisha Nocos, who was followed by Allaina Caitleen Cunanan.
Justine Ramil Gepiga ranked second in the junior category, while Shawn Zander Flores placed third.
Vincent Manuel wound up second in the senior category, while Rad Lastimoso landed at third.
Cash prizes and gift certificates were given to the top three winners of each category.
The competition participated in by 256 artists was judged by Dr. Shane Carreon, Dean of the College of Communication, Art, and Design of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu, Prof. Dennis Montera, a known visual artist and coordinator of the Fine Arts Program of UP-Cebu, and Ruel Rosello, a former photojournalist who is also a painter and visual artist.
“We saw a lot of good artists based on the submitted entries. These kids certainly have the potential,” said Rosello.
Now in its 12th year, the MB Sketchfest 2023 kicked off with its Davao leg on August 25.
After Cebu, the MB Sketchfest will hold its Manila leg on September 30.
With the theme “We Are All Created Equal,” this year’s MB Sketchfest is co-presented by SM Seaside City Cebu, Grab, AirASia, and Radio Mindanao Network.
Event partners are the National Museum of the Philippines, Radisson Blu Cebu, Cebu Music Learning Center, Cebu Cordova Link Expressway, GT Cosmetics, Beautiful Horizon, Philtrust Bank, Canson, Winsor & Newton, and Nature’s Spring.
Realme is the official smartphone of MB Sketchfest 2023.