Press Release 2017

UOB Malaysia Invites Artists to Draw on Their Talent and Enter the 2017 UOB Painting of the Year Competition

Kuala Lumpur, 31 May 2017 - United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (UOB Malaysia) today launched the 2017 UOB Painting of the Year competition and welcomed all emerging and established Malaysian artists to enter the competition. The annual competition is one of the region's most prestigious art competitions and exemplifies UOB Malaysia's long-term support of the art community.

This year's competition will focus on the theme of Reciprocity, which is how viewers perceive and appreciate art through their own experiences and memories.

Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia said, "The beauty of art is subjective and can be interpreted differently based on each viewer's feelings and experiences. This year's theme highlights this unique element that makes art and the appreciation of it personal to each of us."

"We believe that art plays an essential role in the progress of a country, its economy and its people. The UOB Painting of the Year aims to not only provide a platform to uncover talented artists in the country, but also to highlight the role art plays in shaping our community. The annual competition is UOB's commitment to help identify artistic talents and to provide them with opportunities to hone their skills and to showcase their works to a wider community," Mr Wong said.

UOB Malaysia invites artists from around the country to enter the 2017 UOB Painting of the Year Competition
Entries for Malaysia-based artists will be accepted until 1 September 2017. To make it easier for artists from around the country to enter the competition, UOB Malaysia will accept initial entries via photo submission. Artists will be required to send in their actual artwork only if their piece is selected for the next round of judging. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony in October 2017.

The top artist in Malaysia will win US$25,000 and a chance to compete for the UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year award (worth an additional US$10,000), and will be considered for a one-month residency programme at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.

For further details on how to enter the competition, please visit www.uobpoy.com. Entry forms are available online and across all San Francisco coffee outlets across the Klang Valley.

About UOB and art
The Bank started its annual UOB Painting of the Year (POY) competition in Singapore in 1982 and has since extended it to Thailand in 2010 and then Malaysia and Indonesia in 2011. Over the years, the competition has helped to discover many talented emerging artists and to recognise several established professionals who have contributed significantly to the development of the Southeast Asian art scene. Today, the annual art competition is the longest-running in Singapore and is one of the most prestigious in Southeast Asia.

As part of the UOB POY competition, the Bank started a residency programme with the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in 2009 with the aim of encouraging artists to exchange creative ideas with their peers in the region. Every year, one winner of the UOB POY competition is given an opportunity to attend the residency programme as part of the prize.

Winners of this year's competition will have the opportunity to exhibit their artworks at the UOB Art Gallery. They will also be invited to participate in art exchange workshops overseas and conduct art education activities for UOB employees and children from beneficiaries supported by the Bank.

The UOB POY competition has cultivated strong alumni of artists across the region over the last 35 years. Mr Goh Beng Kwan, one of Singapore's masters of modern art, was the inaugural winner of the competition in 1982. Mr Goh went on to receive Singapore's most distinguished arts award, the Cultural Medallion, in 1989. Other well-known artists who won the competition are the late Mr Anthony Poon and Mr Chua Ek Kay in 1983 and 1991 respectively. Both artists are also recipients of the Singapore Cultural Medallion.

The competition's illustrious alumni also include talented artists in the region, such as Indonesia's Mr Gatot Indrajati who won the 2016 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year and the 2016 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) awards with his artwork, 'Right or Wrong My Home'. The 2016 UOB POY competition also recognised the works of Malaysia's Ms Yim Yen Sum, Singapore's Mr Carey Ngai, and Thailand's Mr Jongjit Moolmat.

In recognition of the Bank's long-term commitment to art, UOB was presented with the National Arts Council's Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award for the 12th consecutive year in 2016.