National Artists

• Lucresia Roces Kasilag


  National Artist for Music (1989), Composer and Pianist
• Lucresia Roces Kasilag


  • Known for incorporating indigenous Filipino instruments into orchestral productions
• Levi Celerio


  National Artist for Music (1997), Composer and Lyricist
• Levi Celerio


  • Best leaf player(Guinness World of Records), Youngest affiliate of the Manila Symphony Orchestra
• Andrea Veneracion


  National Artist for Music (1999), Choirmaster and choral arranger (Philippine Madrigal Singers)
• Andrea Veneracion


  • Her choristers have careers in music. Most Popular: Mark Anthony Carpio, Accompanist of National Artist for Music Jovita Fuentes
• Ramon P. Santos


  National Artist for Music (2014), Composer, Ethnomusicologist
• Ramon P. Santos


  • His works have been featured in major festivals worldwide, Integrates elements from both Western and non-Western musical traditions
• Fides Cuyugan-Asensio


  National Artist for Music (2022), Filipino coloratura soprano, director, librettist, TV host, translator, and teacher
• Fides Cuyugan-Asensio


  • Leading figure in the Philippine opera scene, Founder of the Music Theater Foundation of the Philippines (MTFP)
• Francisca Reyes-Aquino


  National Artist for Dance (1973), Mother of Philippine Folk Dance
• Francisca Reyes-Aquino


  • Started researching in 1920s on folk dances for documentation
• Lucrecia Urtula


  National Artist for Dance (1988), Choreographer, theater director, teacher, author and researcher on ethnic dance
• Lucrecia Urtula


  • Apprentice of Francisca Reyes-Aquino, Spent four decades in the discovery and study of Philippine folk and ethnic dances
• Ramon Obusan


  National Artist for Dance (2006), Archivist, researcher, and documentary filmmaker focused on Philippine culture
• Ramon Obusan


  • Founder of Ramon Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group on 1971, Documented and preserved traditional Philippine arts and culture for future generations
• Alice Reyes


  National Artist for Dance (2014), Mother of Philippine Contemporary Dance
• Alice Reyes


  • Started at an early age with classical ballet under the tutelage of Rosalia Merino Santos, Retired from Ballet Philippines in 1985 but still served as its artistic director until 1989
• Agnes Dakudao Locsin


  National Artist for Dance (2022), Choreography & Instructor(NEO-ETHNIC)
• Agnes Dakudao Locsin


  • Most progressive contemporary choreographers in the Philippines, Founder of Locsin Dance Workshop
• Lamberto Vera Avellana


  National Artist for Theater (1976), Director
• Lamberto Vera Avellana


  • "The Boy Wonder of Philippine Movies"
• Wilfrido Maria Barredo Guerrero


  National Artist for Theater (1976), Director
• Wilfrido Maria Barredo Guerrero


  • Founder and artistic director of the UP Mobile Theater, Writing his first play at the remarkable age of 14, In 1947, Guerrero was appointed as the director of the UP Dramatic Club
• Rolando Santos Tinio


  National Artist for Theater (1997), Director
• Rolando Santos Tinio


  • Tinio's multifaceted career spanned various roles including playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic, and translator, contributing significantly to the Philippine arts scene, Renowned for his translations of Western classics, Tinio brought works of Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, Puccini, and Verdi into Tagalog
• Daisy Hontiveros Avellana


  National Artist for Theater (1997), Director
• Daisy Hontiveros Avellana


  • Her husband was Lamberto Avellana, a film and stage director who was also named a National Artist in 1976, She starred in plays like Othello (1953), Macbeth in Black (1959), Casa de Bernarda Alba (1967)
• Salvador Floro Bernal


  National Artist for Theater (2003), Director
• Salvador Floro Bernal


  • Designed more than 300 productions distinguished for their originality, He harnessed the design potential of inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing the use of bamboo, raw abaca, and abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links and gauze cacha
• Carlos Francisco


  National Artist for Visual Arts (1973)
• Carlos Francisco


  • Discovered Angono petroglyphs, Member of the 13 Moderns, Served as the production designer for the 1961 film adaptation of Noli Me Tángere
• Victorio Edades


  National Artist for Visual Arts (1976), The Father of Modern Philippine Art, The Father of Modern Philippine Painting
• Victorio Edades


  • Led the revolutionary Thirteen Moderns, Exposed Filipino artists to modernism
• Francisco Vicente Coching


  National Artist for Visual Arts (2014), Dean of Filipino Illustrators
• Francisco Vicente Coching


  • Son of noted Tagalog novelist and comics illustrator Gregorio Coching, He was part of the golden age of Filipino comics in the 1950s and 1960s
• Napoleon Isabelo "Billy" Veloso Abueva


  National Artist for Visual Arts (1976), Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture
• Napoleon Isabelo "Billy" Veloso Abueva


  • Only Boholano with National Artist in Visual Arts, Youngest recipient at 46 years old
• Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera


  National Artist for Visual Arts (2006)
• Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera


  • Founded Baguio Arts Guild with Kidlat Tahimik, Santiago Bose, and Roberto Villanueva, Started building the BenCab Museum in 2006 as a permanent home for his own work, BenCab and the BAG helped out by instituting programs such as Artquake