IN an effort to energize the local creative economy by generating original intellectual property (IP) content that reflects the country’s rich cultural heritage, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Board of Trustees has earmarked around P20 million in development funding for the launching of the CCP Grants.
The program provides financial, technical and educational support to Filipino creative businesses, content developers, artists and students. By supporting and encouraging Filipinos to create original content, the CCP hopes to produce a collection of original IP and build a national identity in terms of original Filipino content development. The goal is to showcase the world-class talent and ingenuity of Filipino artists.
“The global animation industry revenue is around $270 billion and the Philippines contributes to around $20 million to $30 million per year,” said CCP Board of Trustee Benedict Carandang. “We have an estimated 10,000 full-time artists supporting this industry.”
Carandang added that of the $174.9 billion global gaming revenue, the local contribution stands at $1.38 million. Meanwhile, the Philippines has 1,000-plus self-published titles, 266 published titles from 12 publishers, and an estimated 5,000 original IP creators in the comics industry. The hope, Carandang said, is that the CCP seed investment will help encourage future government legislators to support and fund parallel programs that can help stimulate the local creative economy.
Under the program, Filipino content creators can pitch their ideas for a chance to win in any of the following three categories, namely: Game Development Grant, Animation Grant, and Comics Grant.
For the Game Development Grant, potentially four SEC-recognized game development organizations will be awarded a maximum cap funding of P1.5 million each, along with a maximum of P300,000 each to independent game developers, to create and complete a digital game project with a mix of creative, cultural and commercial outcomes, and content derived from the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art.
The Comics Grant offers P330,000 for six potential winners, while the Animation Grant has funding of P2 million each for four potential winners to bring to life five-minute animated short films. Both the animation and comics output must be developed around the theme of “Philippine Folktales, Myths and Legends.” Additionally, a training component with leading industry professionals will be integrated for the winners.
“In this digital era, visual and literary arts in the form of animation, comics and even gaming have made an impact in the lives of the public,” said CCP Board of Trustee Nikki Junia. All these art forms are important to be given attention, as they can support the preservation, development and awareness of the culture and arts that will be engaging for today’s generation.”
The CCP Grants program is supported by the Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines (SIKAP), Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), Animation Council of the Philippines (ACPI), and KOMIKET. Filipino individuals and organizations at all stages of their careers are invited to join.
The Game Development Grant Application form can be found at forms.gle/cvM1UNqLmWSEK6239, while the Animation and Comics Grant Application form can be accessed at forms.gle/7P6PNASVPsXhtgUo9.