UOB launches 42nd Painting of the Year award featuring artists with disabilities

UOB launched the 42nd edition of its annual flagship Painting of the Year award on Wednesday (May 3) at the National Gallery. This year’s edition features a fashion showcase with 36 limited-edition art wearables that will be sold for charity.

The wearables were co-designed over a period of three months by UOB Painting of the Year artists and artists with disabilities from Journey, a brand under charity organisation Touch Community Services. They feature oriental and floral themes, and will be produced by Singapore-based fashion label Ans.Ein.

UOB deputy chairman and chief executive officer Wee Ee Cheong said: “I am heartened to see that our UOB Painting of the Year artists are bringing their talents into the community to collaborate with artists with disabilities from Touch Community Services, bringing the joy of art to a wider audience.”

Proceeds from the sale of the wearables will go to Touch Community Services to support Journey’s art and education efforts for special-needs groups. The wearables will be on sale at www.journeyspecial.com from May 31.

Wee noted that the award is expanding to Vietnam this year, after having already expanded to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The award is divided into two categories, established and emerging artists.

Including Singapore, winners from the five countries will compete for the UOB South-east Asian Painting of the Year award. In addition to their country award prize, the winner of this award will receive S$13,000 and a chance for a residency programme at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.

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The winner for this award, as well as the Singapore winners, will be announced on Nov 8. 

The competition is currently open to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, who can submit their entries on www.UOBandArt.com. Submissions close on Jul 31.

Since its establishment in 1982, the UOB Painting of the Year competition has discovered more than 1,000 artists across the region.