Aspiring and professional Thai artists are invited to enter the 13th "UOB Painting Of The Year (POY) Competition", which is accepting entries until Aug 15. Cash prizes worth 1.72 million baht are up for grabs.
This is the country's only regional art competition held annually by UOB Thailand to support local artists in the changing art world and bring art closer to the community.
It's open to all Thai citizens and permanent residents of any age. There are two categories -- emerging artists who are studying art, pursuing a career in art or painting for pleasure; and established artists with a portfolio who have shown their works in an exhibition or were represented by a gallery in an art contest or have received an art award.
Each contestant can submit no more than three paintings, each measuring 180cm in width and length. They are free to use any techniques -- acrylic, batik, Chinese brush, collage, crayon, ink, mixed media, oil or watercolour.
However, entries must be original and have never been used commercially, published or publicly exhibited before. They will be judged based on creativity, compositions and art techniques.
The competition offers four prizes for each category. The top winner of the established artist category will receive 750,000 baht, plus a chance to compete with three counterparts from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in the "UOB Southeast Asian Painting Of The Year" to vie for US$10,000 (347,000 baht) and a one-month residency programme at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.
The other three winners will be granted 300,000, 240,000 and 150,000 baht. Meanwhile, the top four winners of the emerging artist category will receive 100,000, 85,000, 55,000 and 40,000 baht, respectively.
To help local artists adapt themselves and tap digital technology to connect to a wider audience, UOB Thailand will be rolling out a series of knowledge-sharing sessions through two online tutorials and a virtual art roadshow. The activities will be held from June to August. For updates, visit facebook.com/uob.th and uob.co.th/uobandart.
Entries should be submitted via uob.co.th/poy.
