Malaysia’s Cheong Kiet Cheng is chosen from the region’s winners for the coveted UOB-Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Residency Programme
The 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) Competition opens for entries
Kuala Lumpur, 27 May 2019 – United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) today announced that Ms Cheong Kiet Cheng, the winner of the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) Competition, has been selected for the prestigious UOB-Fukuoka Asian Art Museum’s (FAAM) Artists Residency Programme1. This is the third consecutive year a Malaysian artist has been chosen from among the country winners of the UOB Painting of the Year Competition from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for the prestigious residency programme.
The month-long UOB-FAAM Artists Residency Programme supports and promotes the development of up-and-coming artists through a series of workshops, lectures and exhibitions. Through it, UOB aims to offer artists greater exposure and interaction with different artists from around the world who attend or visit the FAAM in Fukuoka, Japan. Every year, a panel of UOB’s POY judges selects the artist-in-residence after a rigorous interview process and a detailed review of their body of work.
Ms Cheong won the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) competition for her artwork titled ‘Through the Eye of the Flower’. The 38-year-old artist impressed the art experts with her technical skill and creative use of ink on canvas to depict an intricate collage of symbols inspired by nature to tell a story of hope and rejuvenation.
“Winning the UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) award last year gave me a great sense of accomplishment. As a local artist, it is truly an honour to be selected for the UOB-FAAM Residency Programme. I am looking forward to spending the month collaborating and learning from renowned and international artists, as well as experiencing a new culture and sharing my work with a wider audience,” Ms Cheong said.
The FAAM is the only museum in the world that collects and exhibits Asian modern and contemporary art and has a permanent collection of more than 2,900 artworks. Since the UOB Painting of the Year Competition2 began in Malaysia in 2011, four other local winners have gone on to complete the residency programme at the FAAM.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said, “We are proud that yet another Malaysian artist has been chosen for the prestigious UOB-FAAM Artists Residency Programme. This is the third year running and the fifth time that a Malaysian artist has been selected for the residency programme. Ms Cheong’s residency is testament to the abundant artistic talent we have here in Malaysia and how the UOB Painting of the Year Competition is nurturing the next generation of great Southeast Asian artists.”
Call for entries to the 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) competition
The 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) Competition is now open for entry. Artists, aspiring and established, are invited to submit their entries by filling in the entry forms, providing a physical or digital photo of their artwork and sending in their entries via email or post. Entry forms are available online at www.uobpoy.com and across UOB Malaysia branches nation-wide from 7 June 2019. Submission closes on 22 August, 2019 at 5.00 pm.
The winner of the 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) award, to be announced at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur in October, will walk away with RM100,000 and go on to compete for the 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year award in Singapore in November.
The 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year award winner will receive an additional US$10,0003 and the chance to attend the one-month residency programme at the FAAM.
For more details of the competition, please visit www.uobpoy.com.
1 Ms Cheong’s FAAM residency programme is from 7 May to 6 June 2019. The UOB-FAAM Artist Residency Programme is the much coveted month-long artist residency programme introduced as part of the UOB Painting of the Year Competition. The artist-in-residence is chosen from the Painting of the Year Competition winners in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
2 The UOB Painting of the Year Competition began in Singapore in 1982.
3 Equivalent to RM41,300