The ILHAM Art Show 2022

ILHAM Gallery is delighted to announce the thirty one artists selected to be part of the inaugural ILHAM Art Show, the gallery’s first open call exhibition. The selected artists are:

1. Azizan Paiman 
2. Azzaha Ibrahim 
3. Blankmalaysia 
4. CC Kua 
5. Chang Yoong Chia 
6. Cheng Yen Pheng 
7. Chong Yan Chuah 
8. Choo Kuan Yeoh 
9. Dhavinder Singh & Alena Nadia 
10. Dipali Gupta 
11. Eddie Wong 
12. Engku Iman 
13. Haffendi Anuar 
14. Haris Abadi 
15. Hasanul Isyraf Idris 
16. Hoo Fan Chon 
17. Ivan Lam 
18. Izat Arif 
19. Kamal Sabran 
20. Kim 
21. Kumpulan Ukir Kite’ Kelab Kebudayaan Mah Meri 
22. Leon Leong 
23. Mimi Aslinda 
24. Minstrel Kuik 
25. Pangrok Sulap 
26. Samsudin Wahab 
27. Sharon Chin 
28. Tan Kian Ming 
29. Tan Zi Hao 
30. Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi
31. Tin and Theyvapaalan S Jayaratnam 

The ILHAM Art Show is a triennial exhibition platform initiated by ILHAM to give artists the  opportunity to experiment and make new work. Those selected to participate in the ILHAM Art  Show are awarded an art production grant to be put towards the making of their new work.  The ILHAM Art Show serves as a platform to support and promote contemporary art in  Malaysia and stimulate lively public discussion and critical debate.  

ILHAM received more than 360 applications for the ILHAM Art Show 2022. Applications were  reviewed by a selection panel including Rahel Joseph, Director, ILHAM Gallery, Shabbir  Hussain Mustafa, Senior Curator, National Gallery Singapore, and Zoe Butt, Artistic Director,  The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Vietnam.  

The selected artworks will be presented at the ILHAM Art Show 2022 which will be held at  ILHAM Gallery from April - September 2022. 

“The pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns have been very challenging for the arts  community. We felt that that the ILHAM Art Show, an initiative designed to encourage artists  to experiment and make new work through the awarding of art production grants would be a  great way to support artists. We were pleasantly surprised to receive such a large number of  applications and our panel had a very difficult time in determining the final list of artists. There  were so many worthy applications ”, said Rahel Joseph, Gallery Director, ILHAM Gallery.  

“We were also happy to see an inter-generational range of artists applying, from senior artists  to those straight out of art school. There were some consistent themes explored from  environmental sustainability to the impact of COVID on mental health”, she continued.  

“Proposals that stood out for me were those with statements where I could see the idea  in the chosen visual; where the choice of material or perspective was found in the visual  composition or the argument for spatial considerations. I was also drawn to portfolios where I could see an artist had consistently attempted to push their artistic language, as evident in the  experimentation with media for example. I am a big believer that artists are the true jesters in  our 21st Century so artworks that challenged the assumptions of my world - culturally,  socially, politically - were also very welcomed”, said panellist Zoe Butt of The Factory  Contemporary Arts Centre, Vietnam. 

The third panelist Shabbir Hussain Mustafa from National Gallery Singapore said “The high  calibre of proposals received meant that difficult choices needed to be made. I want to congratulate all the applicants for generously sharing their ideas with the selection committee,  I learnt a lot. As I made my way through the applications, I came to find great comfort in the  fact that if we are to make sense of this fragile world, we must listen to artists.”