35th UOB Painting of the Year Registration Now Open
Budding and established artists should gather their paintbrushes for the annual competition is now open.
Having been around for more than three decades, the 35th UOB Painting of the Year competition holds the title for being Singapore’s longest running art contest. Bringing the art community closer together, the annual competition is welcoming both emerging and established artists to participate.
Stephen Leong; Eagle
Having been around since 1982, the competition has now expanded to Thailand and Malaysia. The aim of the competition is to discover and nurture talent in Asia, while encouraging them to push the boundaries of their creativity. Along with the opportunity to showcase their work, the winners in the established artist category will be awarded several attractive prizes.
Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze prizes will be awarded US$10,000; US$8,000 and US$5,000 respectively. The ultimate winner, who receives the UOB Painting of the Year award, will not only win a cash prize of US$25,000 but also stand the chance to be selected for a one-month residency program with the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. The candidate will be up against the UOB Painting of the Year Award Winners from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, before a panel of judges selects one lucky winner for the residency. Emerging artists will also stand a chance to win cash prizes ranging from US$1,500 to US$3,000.
Koeh Sia Yong; Bali Lake
Participants who win in the competition this year, will also have the chance to have their work showcased at the UOB Art Gallery. As one of the founding partners of the National Gallery of Singapore, UOB uses this competition to raise the awareness and appreciation of Southeast Asian artists and their works. Thus the bank has opened up the contest to contestants of all ages and waived entry fees.
Some of the competition’s previous winners include Goh Beng Kwan from Singapore who won the very first UOB Painting of the Year competition in 1982. He went on to win the Cultural Medallion award from the National Arts Council of Singapore. Other former winners of the competition are the late Anthony Poon and Chua Ek Kay.
Raymond Lau Poo Seng; Window No 2
In conjunction with the competition, UOB is presenting an exhibition at the UOB Art Gallery located at Raffles Place. The exhibition, titled “Sensibility in Art: Southeast Asia and the local paradigm”, will run till August 26 and will feature an art collection that has been collected over four-decades. Dr Bridget Tracy Tan, Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts and Art Galleries, Nanyang Academy of Fine Art in Singapore, specially selected the 15 paintings on display.
To learn more about the 35th UOB Painting of the Year and how to join the competition, click here.
