Dasein Academy of Art wins most prizes in art competition

This picture of a young boy standing against a huge grille was made by Sim, who won the first prize under the Mixed Media category.

THE Usaha Tegas Heritage Art Competition saw young artists showing off their creativity on canvas.

Their subjects ranged from historical sites and heritage buildings to time-honoured traditions and customs.

Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd director Maureen Toh, who presented cash prizes worth a total of RM77,000 to 25 budding artists, said: “It has been Usaha Tegas Group’s mission over the years to celebrate and preserve Malaysian heritage through this union of creative and artistic minds.

“What underpins this contest is our Malaysian heritage. It has shaped our past and colours the present, and we need to make a concerted effort to pass it on to our future generations.”

The annual competition formerly known as the Tanjong Heritage National Level Art Competition attracted 21 art institutions from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Johor and Negri Sembilan.

From the 955 entries received, 535 were shortlisted. Twenty-nine exceptional pieces by 25 contestants made the cut.

Dasein Academy of Art was the most successful institution, taking home eight prizes.

Fung’s painting bagged the first prize in the Watercolour category. The artist says this piece portrays Malaysia’s increasingly threatened heritage sites as a melting ice cream cone. 

ATEC Academy also proved itself as a worthy contender, taking home six prizes.

Some of the participants stood head and shoulders above the rest by emerging victorious in more than one category. The competition saw four winners walking away with two prizes each.

Entries for the Print Making category clearly made an impression on the judges as this category saw a total of seven winners led by first-prize winner, Teh Jun Yang of Equator College.

The Watercolour category saw Seow Yong Khin of The One Academy and Fung Wei Wei of USM selected as joint first-prize winners.

As for the Charcoal/Pencil/Ink category, the first-prize winner was Lee Lih Xian of ATEC Academy. Sim Hoi Ling from Dasein Academy of Art bagged the top prize for the Mixed Media category while Foo Fang Xuan topped the Oil/Acrylic category.

“Throughout the years, the Usaha Tegas Heritage Art Competition has unearthed many promising artists. In fact, we have had winners who have gone on to become successful artists.

“This year’s batch has raised the bar with a unique outlook on Malaysia’s heritage,” said Toh.

Artwork by Lee En Kae from Equator College Penang won the 3rd prize for Print Making Category. 

Guests who attended the event could view the winning artworks and meet the young winners. Young artist and former two-time competition winner Liew Ting Chuang also showcased his art pieces exclusively at the event.

The panel of judges who rose to the challenge of selecting the best of the best was led by Juhari Said, an award-winning printmaker with a career spanning 35 years.

He was joined by well-respected personalities in the art and heritage communities including Chin Kon Yit, who is regarded as the Watercolour Maestro of Asia and Dr Kim Phaik Lah, who has been part of the judging panel since 2001 and is adviser to several art and heritage education organisations.

Joining them was Ar. Laurence Loh, a conservation architect and cultural heritage expert in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region whose conservation work has won many Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards as well as Badan Warisan Malaysia president Elizabeth Cardosa who has been actively involved in cultural heritage conservation for the past 15 years.

New to the panel of judges is Hasanul Isyraf Idris, an award-winning artist who has been part of numerous exhibitions and art fairs locally and globally. He is also an active member of the Run Amok art collective in Penang.