Six-time Philippine state recipient of the 9th Ani ng Dangal Awards, Jophel Botero Ybiosa, is already receiving honors from international tilts this early in the year.
The leader of Team Juan Makasining will receive his 6th Ani ng Dangal Award for Visual Arts from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) this February 28, honoring him for numerous international recognitions for his photographs in 2016.
The Ani recognizes Ybiosa’s body of works as significant contributions to Philippine arts and culture at the highest levels of artistic excellence and bringing honor to the country.
In 2016 Ybiosa harvested 30 awards, 27 of them from international award-giving bodies for photography.
This early in 2017, Ybiosa has already received more international recognitions from the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey.
The Filipino photographer’s “The Feast of Nazarene” has been judged the 2 nd Place Winner in the Major Events International Photography Competition given out by the Society of International School & Events Photographers (SISEP) based in United Kingdom. The same competition also gave him the Highly Commended Award for another Nazarene photo.
In January, Ybiosa was awarded by the 77th International Photographic Salon of Japan for his photo of a “Young Filipino graduate hoping for a brighter future.”
Ybiosa’s photo, captioned “Dream of a young Filipino,” was given an honorable mention by the All-Japan Association of Photographic Societies (AJAPS) which consists of 18,000 members, and sponsors contests.
His works have also been selected for the Peace and Tolerance International Exhibition in Turkey.
In an interview with GoodNewsPilipinas.com Ybiosa said he was also proud to be awarded by the International Photography Awards (IPA) in 2016.
The cruise photographer was awarded the “Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year in Professional Category” by the IPA, considered as one of the most ambitious and comprehensive competitions in the photography world today.
Ybiosa won the prestigious award for his photo series entitled, “The Passion and Devotion of Filipinos,” which features the Feast of Black Nazarene procession held every January 9 th in the Philippines.
“It’s meaningful for me as a devotee of Black Nazarene,” said Ybiosa about his award-winning work.
The photographer who is known for his visually arresting images also won the Gold Award in Fine Art Portrait Category, a Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention in other categories of the tilt.
Ybiosa, a cruise ship photographer, has been receiving international recognition in different photo competitions and exhibitions while travelling around the world.
He enters about 20-30 competitions yearly and gets awards from nearly all contests because he believes the competitions are platforms to share talent and hone his artistic abilities, as well as venues to bring honor to the Philippines.
“Joining international competitions is also a part of my advocacy which is to promote our distinct socio-cultural identity, uphold positive Filipino values and help put the Philippines on the global map of art. It’s fulfilling to represent our country in international exhibition and competition and bring an honor. It’s a motivation for me whenever I receive moral support and appreciation from fellow Filipinos and even from foreigners,” he said in the GoodNewsPilipinas.com interview.
Ybiosa is the founder of Team Juan Makasining, a community of advocates of the promotion of Philippine arts and culture, positive Filipino values, of putting the Philippines in the global map of art, and the empowerment of young artists. Their 2017 goal, “Angat-Sining” is set to showcase creative talents of Filipinos.
Ybiosa says his goal in 2017 is to surpass his personal record of wins to push his agenda of making the Filipino proud of their talents.
