THE SETIA KARYA HOTEL ART CONTEST

SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE SETIA KARYA HOTEL ART CONTEST

10 MAY 2022

 

YBhg Dato’ Seri Koe Peng Kang

Deputy President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of S P Setia

 

Mr Ashwin Gunasekaran

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) representing Penang Art District

 

Mr Lee Khai

Chairman, Penang State Art Gallery

 

Mdm Cheong Mei Fong

Owner of Island Gallery

 

Mr Liu Cheng Hua

Head of Fine Art of Malaysia Institute of Art

 

Mr Khoo Boo Lim

Vice President of Malaysian Association of Hotels

 

Members of the media

 

Ladies and gentlemen

 

Good afternoon.

It is a personal pleasure for me to be invited as a panel judge for the Setia KARYA Hotel Art Contest as well as to witness the announcement of the winners today.

I would like to commend S P Setia and the organising partners of Setia KARYA for initiating a meaningful campaign which has provided a platform to nurture aspiring Malaysian artists of all ages and from all walks of life to showcase their creativity especially for the underprivileged and those with special needs.

Bridging art and hospitality, Setia KARYA has created an opportunity for our talents to be recognised not only locally but also to be seen and appreciated by travellers from around the world.

Today’s winning artworks will be exhibited at the upcoming 453-room Amari SPICE Penang and the 252-room Amari Kuala Lumpur.

It is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the arts and culture industry significantly in Malaysia after the continuous lockdowns.

With Setia KARYA and the reopening of borders leading up to the opening of the new Amari hotels by September 2022, our homegrown talents can now be hopeful of having greater opportunities to be discovered.

Having seen some of the individually unique artworks submitted by our local artists, I am very excited to find out the top talents who will be the winners of the Setia KARYA Hotel Art Contest.

Finally, I would like to thank S P Setia for spearheading Setia KARYA along with supporting partners who have made this campaign possible. I hope this campaign will be a catalyst to boost the local arts and culture industry as we continue to nurture and shine a light on our own homegrown talents.

Thank you.