Artists vie for 2002 ASEAN Arts Awards

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia will host the 2002 ASEAN Art Awards in Bali early next month as the culmination of national art competitions previously held in each of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Some 44 contemporary artworks from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar will compete for the US$15,000 grand prize and the $5,000 juror's choice award, between May 7 and May 9.

"There will also be some artworks from Laos and Cambodia, which although not in the competition, will be exhibited," the organizer, corporate affairs manager of PT Philip Morris Indonesia, Geroard Jusuf, said in a media conference.

Indonesia will be represented by five winners of last year's Indonesian Arts Awards organized by the Indonesian Fine Arts Foundation (YSRI) and PT Philip Morris Indonesia.

They are Ay Tjoe Christine with Pilgrim King, Ibrahim for Tabir (Veil), R.M. Sony Irawan for Bangun dari Mimpi Buruk yang Indah (Waking from a lovely nightmare), S. Teddy D. for Kaki (Foot), and Zulkarnaini for Yang Tersurat dan Yang Tersirat (The inferred and the implied).

Judges for the 2002 awards are chosen from non-ASEAN countries to keep the awards neutral and objective, Geroard said, adding that the winners will hopefully be able to exhibit their work in non-ASEAN countries through the help of the judges.

The judges for this year's awards are artist and cultural commentator Pat Hoffie from Australia; artist and writer Yulin Lee from Taiwan; director of the Asian Museum of San Francisco Emily Sano from the United States; art writer, broadcaster, television and cinema consultant Philippe Piguet from France; and artist and professor at Kangnung National University Han-Kook Kim from Korea.

The ASEAN Art Awards were established in 1994 in Singapore, sponsored by the Philip Morris Group, endorsed by the ASEAN secretariat and supported by 33 national art institutions.