Three local talents stand to win two-week Bulgarian cultural exchange trip

From left: Tan, Linggi, Petrov, Tenko Enterprise representative Oliver Galasius, Petrov's mother Liliya Petrova and Wong at an art studio in Penampang on Tuesday (June 26).

KOTA KINABALU:  Three local talents stand a chance of winning a trip to Bulgaria for a two-week cultural exchange in a competition held by the organisers of the inaugural "International Sculpture Experience Sabah" programme.

Bulgarian artist Ventsisla Petrov said the cultural exchange programme will be fully funded by the Mayor of Dobrich, Yordan Yordanov, and the Dobrich municipality.

He explained that the city of Dobrich will also provide the selected talents with gallery space for them to hold an exhibition and present their art.

"We are organising a competition in which three local sculptors will work with our team during the International Sculpture Experience.

"The selected talents will also showcase their work in the final exhibition of the event, and will have the opportunity to travel to Bulgaria on a cultural exchange programme," he said at a press conference here on Tuesday (June 26).

Petrov added that the selected artists will be working with four Bulgarian sculptors, including Petrov, as well as Sabahan artist Japson Wong, to produce the final exhibition slated for November at the Sabah Art Gallery (SAG).

"It will be our gift to the community," he related.

Petrov said the objective of the competition was to discover young talents in Sabah, and to give them a space to express their talents, as well as work with international artistes.

The competition is open to local artists aged between 18 and 40.

Petrov said contestants have between now until Oct 1 to submit their artworks - in the form of either a sculpture, installation or any other three-dimensional object - to the "International Sculpture Experience Sabah" Facebook page.

The month-long event - co-organised by and Tenko Enterprise Marketing & Events - will kick off on Nov 1 until Dec 1. 

The main objective of "International Sculpture Experience Sabah" is to raise awareness of the beauty of sculpture art, as well as to educate Sabahan youth on how to understand this form of art using different techniques.

Other than promoting art in the region, the organisers also aim to create alternative educational programmes in arts for kindergartens and primary schools.

Also present at the conference were SAG curator Jennifer Linggi and Sabah artist Tan Sheau Ling.