Dennis Montera’s dedication and commitment to art and culture
INDIVIDUALS with dedication and commitment as their core strengths are always great leaders because they follow through on their actions. They can help others and solve problems to accomplish a goal, no matter how long it takes.
NCCA committee head on visual arts Dennis “Sio” Montera is a leader with these characteristics. His dedication and leadership are immeasurable. During his student days, he started his cultural works by helping voluntarily in organizing art events.
Montera is also part of the group that organized the Viva Excon, Southeast Asia’s longest-running artists-led biennial, after which he applied to NCCA as Central Visayas representative. Eventually, the Cebu-based Montera became the first head of the visual arts committee who is not from NCR.
Montera is an educator and a fulltime associate professor for the Fine Arts Program at the University of the Philippines, Cebu campus. He is a devoted cultural worker and researcher. Montera is also a practicing visual artist whose art is known as process-oriented abstraction. His artworks narrate the sights, sounds, interactions, and experiences he interprets in acrylics, combined with non-traditional materials.
Aside from the academe, Montera is also passionate about community art development. He was the past president of Pusod Cebu Visual Artists, Inc., a founding member of the Creative Cebu Council Inc., and the current Head of the Committee on Visual Arts of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts.
His works have been recognized in the local and international art communities. In 2010, he won the Grand Prize for the GSIS Painting Competition, and in 2011, he was awarded the Visayas Juror’s Choice of the Philippine Art Awards. He has also earned the Most Outstanding Achievement in Creative Work from the University of the Philippines’ Chancellor’s Award twice – in 2008 and 2010.
Internationally, Montera regularly represents the Philippines. In 2012, his works were exhibited at the 26th Asian International Art Exhibition in Seoul, Korea, at the 4th East Java Fine Art Biennale in Surabaya, Indonesia, and at the 5th Beijing International Art Biennale in China. In 2013, he was awarded an Artist in Residence Program by the Association Le Cent, Établissement Culturel Solidaire in Paris, France.
Montera finished his Doctorate in Creative Industries Design at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
According to Montera, a three-term vice-head of the visual arts committee before becoming the head, NCCA has numerous priority programs that art associations could use through competitive grants. These grants could be realized by submitting program proposals for art competitions and research grants, especially for art projects and publications.
Moreover, NCCA also has a development program for art groups and associations in partnership with their LGUs to uplift the artist community. Interested art groups must be SECregistered to avail of these programs.