Marikit Santiago has been awarded the 2024 La Prairie Art Award for her paintings A Seat at the Table (Magulang) and A Seat at the Table (Kapatid).
Santiago is the third recipient of the prestigious award which, founded in 2022, recognises and champions women artists in Australia.
As part of the accolade, the Art Gallery of New South Wales will acquire the winning paintings from the Western Sydney-based Filipina-Australian artist. Santiago will also travel to Switzerland in June 2024 to attend the Art Basel International Art Fair 2024 as a guest of La Prairie, a Swiss luxury skincare house.
Santiago dedicated the award to the “sacrifice and hardship” of her magulang (parents in Tagalog), who are depicted in the first painting, A Seat at the Table (Magulang), at a table laid with lechon (roast pig), banana leaf and a bird of paradise flower.
“The La Prairie Art Award is a tangible reward for my parents whose sacrifice and hardship in migrating to Australia provided opportunity and the privileges of my upbringing, which, I firmly believe, allowed me to pursue a career in art while raising a family,” Santiago said.
Her second painting, A Seat at the Table (Kapatid), is an inverted portrait of Santiago and her kapatid (sibling) at a table laid with narcissus daisies and a python snake, a symbol of temptation and sin.
“It’s fitting that, through the La Prairie Art Award, portraits of migrant parents and their daughters will enter the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales where they will represent the Filipino and migrant communities from Western Sydney,” Santiago said.
“It is a privilege to contribute to the culture of my communities with whom I share all my accomplishments.”
Both award-winning paintings include marks made by her three young children, who Santiago often credits as artistic collaborators in many of her paintings.
“This award also allows me to demonstrate to my children that excellence will always be recognised and celebrated,” Santiago said.
“I am honoured and excited to share this experience with my children, to whom my practice is dedicated, and with my husband, without whom none of this would be possible.”
Beatrice Garlton, the Art Gallery of NSW’s senior curator of contemporary Australian art, praised Santiago’s “deeply person” work depicting her lived experience as a Filipina woman in Australia.
“Marikit’s paintings probe the artist’s relationship between art and life, career and family, myth and reality,” Garlton said.
“Using oil paint and gold leaf alongside humble materials such as cardboard boxes and markers, Marikit produces rich and detailed compositions, layered with cultural and religious symbolism.
“Her deeply personal and meticulous practice explores her lived Filipina–Australian experience through the canon of Western art history. These paintings are a love letter to her family, her culture and Australia.”
Art Gallery of NSW Director Michael Brand said he is thrilled to feature Santiago’s award-winning paintings in the gallery.
“Marikit is a compelling and dedicated artist who will no doubt take full advantage of this opportunity to continue to develop creatively,” Brand said.
“We are delighted to be acquiring two of her paintings for our collection, thanks to the support of La Prairie. We look forward to sharing these works with our visitors over the coming months.”
Santiago is a three-time Archibald Prize finalist, in 2016, 2021 and 2023. In 2020, she was the recipient of the Sir John Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW for a painting of her three children.
Feature image: La Prairie Art Award 2024 recipient Marikit Santiago with her artworks ‘A Seat at the Table (Magulang)’ 2022 (left) and ‘A Seat at the Table (Kapatid)’ 2022, Art Gallery of New South Wales, La Prairie Art Award 2024 © Marikit Santiago, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mark Marchand