UOB Painting of the year 2023

As the Art Consultant for UOB Painting of the Year 2023, we provided strategic advisory on curatorial direction, artist profiling aligning with StylizeState’s mission to elevate Southeast Asian contemporary art. Our role focused on enhancing the visibility of emerging talents, positioning works for long-term value, and connecting institutional and private collectors with culturally resonant pieces. This consultancy reflected a deep understanding of market dynamics, narrative development, and cross-sector collaboration in the regional art ecosystem.

Client: Solnest – UOB Bank

About UOB and Art
UOB’s involvement in art started in the 1970s with its collection of paintings by Singapore artists. Today, the UOB Art Collection has more than 2,600 artworks, made up primarily of paintings from established and emerging Southeast Asian artists. UOB plays an active role in communities across the region, most notably through its long-term commitment to art. As the leading patron of the arts in Asia, the Bank continues to make art accessible to a wider audience through a diverse range of visual art programmes, partnerships and community outreach across the region.

The Bank’s flagship art programme is the UOB Painting of the Year competition, which was started in 1982 to recognise Southeast Asian artists and to offer them the opportunity to showcase their works to the wider community. The competition was extended to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and in 2023, to Vietnam. It is now the longest running art competition in Singapore and one of the most prestigious in Southeast Asia.

Over the past 41 years, the competition has cultivated and advanced the careers of many artists in Singapore. Notable among them are Mr Goh Beng Kwan (1982 winner), and the late Mr Anthony Poon (1983 winner) and Mr Chua Ek Kay (1991 winner), who received the Singapore Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s most distinguished art award.

The competition has also recognised talents from across the region through the UOB Southeast Asian POY award. Previous winners include Chomrawi Suksom from Thailand in 2022, Mr Saiful Razman from Malaysia in 2021, Mr Prabu Perdana from Indonesia in 2020, Mr Anagard from Indonesia in 2019, Mr Suvi Wahyudianto from Indonesia in 2018.

Together with the UOB POY winning artists, UOB also runs art workshops for underprivileged and special needs children regularly. At these workshops, the young learn art techniques from art professionals and award-winning artists.

In recognition of the Bank’s long-term commitment to art, UOB was presented with the Singapore National Arts Council’s Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award for the 20th consecutive year in 2023.