The local art scene has been gaining its much needed exposure through a series of event that encourage the youth’s creative movement in Malaysia. Street art is no longer deemed “illegal” as the society is starting to see it as a form of creative expression. In support of Malaysia’s aspiring artists, Nando’s Malaysia launched the 8th installation of its annual art competition through the brand’s on-going art initiative programme on 20th Jan.
Nando’s Malaysia once again deepens their commitment towards supporting the young Malaysia artists by providing more aspects to the programme. This allows Nando’s to reach out to more passionate youth with a love for art as they harness great support for artists from the competition as well as other young talents. In an effort to allow more individuals to showcase their work, two new categories were introduced at last year’s Nando’s Art Initiative.
This year around, the Nando’s Art Initiative will operate independently to nurture young talented artists by providing them a platform to showcase their work and a dedicated space in which to do so. Thus, in conjunction with the launch of the 2015 Nando’s art competition, Nando’s officially introduced us to LOT123, a contemporary new creative space for Malaysia’s aspiring artists.
“Instead of using the space to expand the restaurant, we felt that converting it into a venue for artists would make more sense for our art initiative programme. This will be an outlet dedicated to the arts without any commission incurred on the pieces sold,” said Ian Cruddas, CEO of Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
He added:
This represents our commitment and investment in nurturing these talented individuals. With this new venture we are now able to host art exhibitions, workshops or event mentorship programmes for these new talents.
During the official opening of LOT123, the brand also unveiled a new logo that marked a new chapter for the Nando’s Art Initiative, as it moves beyond just a yearly competition with an Art Project on a much larger scale.
LOT123 is currently located at the Nando’s Chinatown outlet, where the entire floor has been converted to further hone new talents as well as where passion for the arts can be expressed and developed. The artistic zone now opens with a group exhibition curated by 2014’s runner-ups and each artist has produced a compilation of four paintings based on their own individual themes.
The full details of the exhibition is as follows:
- Date: 20 Jan – 8 Feb 2015
- Time: 11am – 10pm
- Venue: Nando’s Chinatown, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 123, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur.
The art works that will be available for purchase will range from RM800 to RM 3500.
In line with enabling contestant to truly tell their stories through art, the theme for 2015 will be “Your Art, Your Story”; it will be up to each individual participant to determine their own theme so that they express their own thoughts and ideas through art. This will allow young artistes to explore the depths of their creativity to the fullest and produce a masterpiece that truly expresses their prolific take on art.
In terms of categories, the incorporation of digital art and graffiti art into last year’s competition proved to be a fruitful endeavor and will continue to be part of the annual competition. Participants in these categories who participated in 2014 felt that their passions were being recognized as works of art and Nando’s hopes to help increase the support and interest in digital art and graffiti amongst more Malaysians.
The Nando’s Art Competition 2015 starts on January 20, 2015 and will end on March 31, 2015. Artwork for all three categories is to be submitted by uploading photographs of the completed work online via Nando’s Art Initiative website.
Participants will stand a chance win the prizes worth up to RM85,000 following the categories below. The fiery prizes up for grabs include:
Fine art and digital art categories
- Grand prize – Fully sponsored solo exhibition, RM5,000 cash and Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
- 1st runner up – RM3,000 cash, Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
- 2nd runner up – RM2,000 cash, Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
- Consolation prize (x3) – RM1,000 cash, Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
Graffiti / street art category
- Grand prize – RM5,000 cash, Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
- Consolation prize (x3) – RM2,000 cash, Nando’s vouchers worth RM500
This year’s competition sees a diverse and distinguished panel of judges and they will judge all the works based on originality and creativity, concept and interpretation of ‘Your Art, Your Story’, quality of design and composition, use of medium and artistic finish, and overall impression.
Judges Panel for Nando’s Art Competition:
- Izan Tahir, a dynamic presence and force of innovation in printmaking in Malaysia today
- Nini Ramlan, Head of Content Innovation at Primeworks Studios, painter and illustrator
- Mohd Hirzaq Abdul Haris, former winner of Nando’s Peri-fy Your Art competition, now acclaimed artist
- Marvin Chan, an established Malaysian artist whose works have been put on show in major public and private galleries around the country
- Kenji Chai, a notable name in the graffiti space
- Ian Cruddas, CEO of Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia Sdn Bhd
- Mac Chung Lynn, Group CEO Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
For more information on Nando’s Art Initiative, visit its official website or follow Nando’s Malaysia on Facebook and Twitter.
