Spotlight is a nationwide art competition that provides an amazing opportunity for young aspiring and emerging artists to take their art to the next level and gain valuable experience, recognition, and appreciation for their determination. Here are the winners of Spotlight 2023.
By Kavitaanjali Muniandy
An art competition is an excellent way to nurture creativity. It serves as a platform for artists to exhibit their artistic skills, and to express their ideas, thoughts, and imagination. At the same time, as Brian McBride says, “Competition helps people figure it out.”
For the past five years, Spotlight by Penang Art District has embarked on an initiative to fuel creative spirits and become a milestone for young minds to expand their artistic talents and figure out how to carve their career pathway as an artist. Spotlight has sown the seed that has now grown into a vibrant art community that connects art lovers and enthusiasts in a way that sparks conversations, giving them space to share their thoughts and inspire each other through the transformative power of art. It has witnessed the emergence and evolution of artistic talents, the birth of innovation that challenges the conventional and breaks through confined exhibition walls.
Every year, Spotlight encourages bold and innovative artists between the ages of 17 and 30 from all over Malaysia to push the boundaries of their creativity and thought processes to explore various themes and ideas through art. The top 20 submissions are then selected for a group exhibition, and up to five of the finalists will be chosen for the Jury’s Choice Award, winning a cash prize of RM1,000 each. The Grand Prize Winner of the competition brings home RM5,000 and is given the opportunity to undergo an intensive mentorship programme with an experienced art professional and showcase their body of work in a solo exhibition.
While most competitions restrict artists to one medium, this art competition allows artists to explore a wide spectrum of mediums, such as acrylics, oil painting, silkscreen, collage, ink, mixed media, wood, canvas, metal, cloth, and others, as the medium is open. Participants are evaluated based on their originality and creativity, concept and ideas, use of medium or artistic finish, and the overall impression of their artwork. This enables artists to challenge themselves to come up with fresh new ideas and drive their imagination wild with their competitive spirit.
This year, the sixth edition of Spotlight encouraged applicants to consider the current social and cultural context of Malaysia, and how their art can reflect and contribute to the country’s diverse and dynamic landscape. Out of over 120 entries by young artists from every nook and cranny of Malaysia, top 20 artists with unique perspectives and technical acuity were chosen to showcase their innovative, visionary works of art in the Spotlight Top 20 Finalist Showcase from 27th October until 12th November at China House. Most of these noteworthy artists are students or graduates from institutes like Equator College, Malaysia Institute of Art (MIA), MARA University of Technology (UiTM), Aswara, University of Science Malaysia (USM), Dasein Academy of Art, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and University of Western Australia (UWA).
All the finalists have fought to create intriguing, creative works that speak for themselves. They have created works that span from vast and innovative mediums like porcelain, stoneware, fabrics, artist’s hair, rice paper, embroidery on canvas, LED strip lights with TV frames, plastic on plywood, soil, fishing line to conventional mediums like charcoal, pigment pen, acrylic on canvas, oil on canvas, gesso, pastel, and more. The artworks explore themes relating to self-identity, freedom, unique sensory experiences, the love and loss of a mother, home, baby dumping, and pollution, with others weighing traditional and modern perspectives on life, the value of the cultural perspectives, moral and ethical issues, and permanence and impermanence. Each of these artworks bring forth a complex and audacious story; they grab attention as viewers observe, contemplate, and seek for the unheard, unseen, or ignored, with the hope of driving viewers to take action.
The winners of the Jury’s Choice Award and the Grand Prize were announced during the opening and award-giving ceremony held on the 29th of October 2023. Spotlight by Penang Art District is exhilarated to announce UOB as the main sponsor and China House as the venue sponsor for Spotlight 2023. UOB contributes to the art scene via their annual UOB Painting of The Year, a competition that aims to uncover the next generation of great Southeast Asian artists and contribute to greater awareness and appreciation of the art, and many Spotlight finalists make it to UOB Painting of The Year.
We are proud of all the Top 20 finalists’ achievements in Spotlight 2023 and are thrilled to announce the 5 Jury’s Choice Award winners and 1 Grand Prize winner, congratulations to all of them!
Grand Prize winner
Name | Artwork |
Mubarak Bin Jamil | Trickled Teapot III |
Jury’s Choice Award
Name | Artwork |
Syafia Ullya binti Mohammad Arif | Baby Dumping |
Ahmad Amirul bin Muhammad Noor | Atelorman |
Muhammad Zharfan Hakimi bin Rashidi | Time Stood Still, As If The World Ceased To Turn |
Ho Su San | Memories Of Yesteryears Classroom |
Muhamad Azim bin Mohd Rodi | Narrow |
Spotlight is not just a mere art competition; it is a cathartic, life-changing odyssey and a connection for young, passionate artists who seek an opportunity to foster and flourish, to discover themselves, and to express their inner thoughts and emotions. It is a doorway for a voice that awaits to be heard for its artistic narratives to be told.
Exhibition details:
Date: 27 October – 12 November 2023
Venue: China House, 153, Beach St, George Town
Opening Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Kavitaanjali Muniandy is an art graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with a major in Fine Art and minor in Graphic communications. She has written several art reviews before and is currently freelancing in writing and indulging in creative activities to build a dynamic portfolio as an art enthusiast.