(From left) Judges Syahrul, Parama, Juhari and Chew evaluating the heritage art competition entries.
DETERMINED to give young Malaysian artists an avenue to showcase their creativity despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Usaha Tegas Group organised its Usaha Tegas Heritage Art Competition 2021.
The corporation, an investment holding company owned by Malaysian businessman T Ananda Krishnan, has interests in Malaysian and international firms operating across diverse industries including telecommunications, media, property as well as oil and gas.
The annual contest in its 21st year is aimed at nurturing budding artists while invoking pride in the nation’s rich intangible heritage.
It drew 251 artworks from 26 higher learning institutions.
At a virtual awards ceremony, Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd (UTSB) chief operating officer Lim Ghee Keong along with UTSB directors Maureen Toh and Sivam Kandavanam presented prize money worth a total of RM63,500 to 22 winners.
Toh said: “The past two years have been tough for those in the Malaysian art scene. However, we remain committed in giving artists a showcase to express themselves.
“We were very pleased to receive an abundance of expressive renderings capturing the essence of our intangible heritage.”
The panel of judges was led by printmaking maestro Juhari Said, who was joined by multi-disciplinary artist Bibi Chew and heritage building conservationist Ar Parama Nathan.
The panel also included National Art Gallery senior art curator Syahrul Niza, a committee member of the prestigious Bakat Muda Sezaman, a member of the Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition Committee (Malaysia) as well as a committee member of the Kuala Lumpur Biennale.
On the competition, Juhari said: “The charcoal/pencil/ink category was the most impressive this year.
“We were struck by the conceptualisation of the artworks as well as the complex techniques employed.”
This category saw Wong Kin Tong of the Malaysian Institute of Art bagging top prize with his intricate rendering of Peranakan clay figurines.
The runners-up were Ho Wen Hong of The One Academy Penang and Yong Hui Lin of the Malaysian Institute of Art.
Coming in third and fourth were Ng Sin Koon and Ooi Jia Hao of Atec Academy.
Atec Academy also took the top two spots in the mixed media category.
Ng emerged victorious with her artwork depicting a girl mesmerised by delicacies at a market while Lim Shu Kee came in second.
Muhammad Fahmi Hisham of Universiti Malaysia Sabah was third.
In addition, there were two consolation prizes.
Ng said: “I thank Usaha Tegas for providing young artists a chance to gain a footing in the art industry during these difficult times.”
Tan Peng Hong of Dasein Academy of Art took home the first prize in the oil/acrylic category while Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Mohd Relmie Jimmy and Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Sun Jin Xin won the second and third prizes respectively.
Two other participants were awarded consolation prizes.
Ho (The One Academy Penang) topped the watercolour category while Tan Hui Leng of Alfa International College was second.
There was no third-prize winner but two consolation prizes were given.
The print making category did not produce any first-prize winner.
The second and third prizes went to Ahmad Afiq Md Sebari of Universiti Teknologi Mara and Leow Li En of Dasein Academy of Art.
There was one consolation prize.
(From left) Judges Syahrul, Parama, Juhari and Chew evaluating the heritage art competition entries.
Ng’s first-prize artwork entitled ‘So Delicious!’ in the mixed media category. Colour pencils are used to show a young girl eyeing steamed buns at a market.
Ho’s winning entry entitled ‘Preserved’ in the watercolour category shows a vacuum-sealed bag in the shape of Penang Island encasing the ‘kasut manek.
A Peranakan symbol. (Right) Mohd Relmie’s entry, which won second prize in the oil/acrylic category, is entitled ‘Irama Budaya Sabah’ and depicts ribbons that symbolise the tribes that call Sabah home.
