Pieces from their heart
> This year’s winners of Nando’s Art Initiative will be able to share their masterpieces with the public in an upcoming exhibition
FOR NINE years, the Nando’s Art Initiative has contributed to the list of talented, up-and-coming artists in Malaysia, with past winners like Ali Bebit, Nik Shazmie, Nik Shahfiz, Cedric Cha, Faiz Yunus, and Hirzaq Haris having been given the chance to make their mark in the Malaysian art industry.
They are joined by Siti Nor Hidayah Mohamad Mokhtar and Yau Boon Han, who are this year’s grand prize winners of the Fine Art and Digital Art categories respectively.
Siti’s masterpiece Drama Tragedi is inspired by Ancient Greek theatre tragedies, and sees her demonstrate her artistic skills on tiles.
Yau’s Jungle Boy, on the other hand, is an arresting piece designed to illustrate the message of beauty behind solitude.
For being the grand prize winners, the two will each get a space to hold a solo exhibition as well as a mentoring programme, RM5,000 cash prize, and Nando’s vouchers worth RM500.
Last year’s theme, ‘Your Art Your Story’, was carried over to this year’s.
According to Mac Chung Lynn, the group CEO of Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia and Singapore, the theme was such a huge success that Nando’s Art Initiative organisers have decided they “wanted to do it again officially from now on”.
“It allows our students and artists to get more creative, [and] to really just express themselves in different ways,” Mac added.
Sitting on the judging panel with Mac and Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia CEO Stephen Chew were notable individuals in the local art scene such as Rantai Art Festival founder Hakim Alias, Running Snail Art Studio co-founder and creative director Chong Fei Giap as well as past Nando’s Art Initiative winner Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj.
Also on board was NN Gallery’s Syed Nabil Syed Nahar who is also Nando’s Art Initiative chief adviser.
Mac revealed that going through all the entries was not an easy feat for the judges because of the number of thought-provoking masterpieces.
She said: “[Each] artwork unveiled left us feeling overwhelmed yet in awe of the amazing talents … It’s been an honour to work with a great judging team this year with their creative expertise to evaluate each art piece.”
All works were judged based on originality and creativity, story concept and ideas, quality of design and composition, use of medium and artistic finish, and the overall impression.
First runners-up prize winners were Haz Yusup (Digital Art) and Syed Muhammad Iftah Syed Abdullah (Fine Art), each receiving RM3,000 cash and Nando’s vouchers worth RM500.
Second runners-up Nik Mohd Shahfiz Nik Shairozi (Digital Art) and Chan Hsieh Hua (Fine Art) were each awarded RM2,000 cash and Nando’s vouchers worth RM500.
Consolation prize winners Lim Si Ting, Muhammad Suhaimi Ali, Wan Yin Khei, Naim Harith Saiful Bahrin, Yong Yeat Fhan, and Teow Hai Way also walked away with Nando’s vouchers worth RM500 each.
These winners will be part of a group exhibition to be organised by Nando’s at a later date.
All winning artworks will be open for public viewing from Sept 27 to Oct 24 in Nando’s own art space Lot 123 located inside Nando’s Chinatown outlet in Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur.