Art awards are de riguer these days, but here's the granddaddy of awards that started it all - Young Contemporarie, or in its original Malay title, Bakat Muda Sezaman. The brainchild of National Visuall Art Gallery first made its appearance in 1974 and saw a steady stream of challenging artworks that have built the foundations of local contemporary art and the careers of its makers.
The award flew off the radar for a number of years but made a revival recently with our national art custodians promising that it'll be a binannual affair. All artists below the age of 40 qualify, and with attractive prizes and the promise of great things to come.
This year's judges - Prof. Madya Hasnul Jamal Saidon, Mohd Nasir Baharuddin, Yap Sau Bin, Nur Hanim Binti Mohamed Khairuddin, Andreas Sudjud Dartanto - included ex-awardees, and they underwent multiple stages of judging including a stringent vetting process and nationwide studio visits. Curious what their final take was on this year's applications? Pop on over to Jalan Tun Razak to find out.
The Young Contemporary Award exhibition brings together all the finalists' works and you can expect a big showing across mediums. And though there may be some hit and misses, you'll leave with the comfort of knowing that the exhibition has been carefully curated and with glee, thinking you may have just spotted the next big thing. Rachel Jena