Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Artists Awards 2023 Crowns Its Winners!

by StudyMalaysia.com on August 2, 2023 | Top Stories

Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Artists Awards 2023 Crowns Its Winners! - StudyMalaysia.com

The country’s largest secondary school art competition – the Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Young Artists Awards (MT10) returns better than ever! Having returned as a physical event after three years of being held online, the highly anticipated event among high school students was met with enthusiastic response, gathering over 3,000 participant registrations.

With lucrative offerings of more than RM830,000 worth of The One Academy scholarships and cash prizes up for grabs, the 26th edition of this annual art competition reinstates the tradition by collaborating with Disney • Pixar’s “Elemental” as this year’s theme. The One Academy scoured the whole country in search for the finest artists since May, holding the competition in 11 cities across six states – Selangor, Penang, Perak, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. At The One Academy’s main campus in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, the thrilling competition took place over three days on 22 and 23 July, with the final competition and winners’ announcement held on 29 July.

This national-level drawing competition serves as a stepping stone for many outstanding Malaysian artists aged 14 to 18 to achieve their creative dreams. Since its inception, it has awarded more than RM19.2 million in scholarships and cash rewards to deserving outstanding young artists. With a 40 percent increase in scholarship reward this time, it aims to motivate students and inspire them to unleash their artistic side. It also hopes to further develop the country’s creative scene by encouraging the younger generation to realise the increasing demand for creative ideas and application of arts.

The prestigious Gold Award consisting of RM90,000 worth of The One Academy scholarship and RM3,000 in cash prize was won by 18-year-old Choong Jia Xuan from Selangor. “I never thought that I would win First Place, maybe just a consolation prize. I’m too stunned for words,” said Choong in a daze.

“Following the theme, I wanted to express differences through a comparison of sizes and colours,” she said about her winning artwork. Her words of advice to future participants is to “just express yourself freely, as there are no limitations to art.”

Following that, the Silver Award was clinched by Kok Qin Wah, from Ipoh, Perak, earning her RM70,000 worth of scholarship and RM2,000 cash prize. “The story behind my artwork is that we should be brave enough to remove our masks and show our true selves,” said the 17-year-old who has liked drawing since young and wanted to challenge herself through this competition.

In preparation for the competition, she watched the trailer of the movie “Elemental”, looked for inspirations on the internet, and also asked her friends’ opinions on the theme that was given. “Draw from your heart. Just practise a lot and draw all the time,” she shared her winning method. She hopes to enrol in either the Advertising & Graphic Design or Illustration course at The One Academy.

Meanwhile, the Bronze Award winner Chan Xhin Yuan, 16, from Kuching, Sarawak took home RM50,000 worth of scholarship and RM1,000 in cash. She discussed with her friends as to how to interpret the theme, and asked her art teacher for tips on how to structure the composition. “My painting is about vitiligo, and it’s something that most people feel insecure about. I wanted to say that, in your differences, there’s beauty and colour. That’s why I tried to make my composition very colourful,” explained Chan.

“You don’t need to be afraid of how others might feel about your art. Just do what you feel passionate about and it’ll take you to the top,” said Chan to other aspiring young artists. She wishes to study Fine Arts at The One Academy in the future.

Apart from that, the following seven winners of the Young Artists Awards – Gun Wei Hui (Malacca), Ooi Yun Xuan (Penang), Vivian Looi Min Yi (Kedah), Pang Khe Qin (Kuala Lumpur), Chua Ven Nie (Selangor), Rachel Chew Tong En (Johor) and Phileas Goh Koon Leon (Selangor) were also awarded with RM30,000 worth of scholarship and RM500 cash prize each. It does not end there, 30 of the Encouragement Prize and 44 of the Jury’s Special Selection Prize winners also walked away with scholarships worth RM8,000 and RM5,000 respectively.

The theme for this year’s competition was “The Beauty in Differences”, whereby instead of shying away from differences, we should embrace and celebrate diversity. Participants were required to express what they think is beautiful about being different and how accepting diversity makes life more vibrant, leads us to growth and propels us forward. Traditional mediums such as watercolour, colour pencil, gouache, oil pastel, acrylic paints, pencil sketch, inking and others were allowed to use, except for oil paints and spray paints.

The competition was not all there was, with much to do and explore at the event for family, friends and participants as well. The Digital Art & Creative Design Expo showcased the illustrious work of The One Academy’s talented students and passionate lecturers. A variety of impressive masterpieces from the diverse creative industry were on display, together with inspiring live digital art drawing, interactive installations, fashion displays, fine arts exhibition, creative seminar and more featured, promising an informative and fun time for all visitors.

The event was a huge success thanks to the steadfast support of movie partner Walt Disney Studios Malaysia and online media partners SAYS and Tantannews.

The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for over 30 years, by providing diploma and degree courses in Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making, Computer Science & Game Design. For more information, visit www.toa.edu.my or call 03-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].