THE inaugural Ilham Art Show opens at Ilham Gallery from now until October 21, this year. The Ilham Art Show is a triennial exhibition platform initiated by Ilham to allow artists to experiment and make new work.
“When we announced the inception of the Ilham Art Show, the country was under its second lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With museums and galleries closed for extended periods, it felt more important than ever to introduce a programme that would support contemporary artists and stimulate public discussion in Malaysia”, said Rahel Joseph, gallery director of Ilham.
The inaugural edition began with a Call for Entries in 2021, open to all artists based in Malaysia. The response was overwhelming. Ilham received more than 360 submissions from both emerging and established artists.
The entries were reviewed by a jury comprising Rahel, Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, senior curator, National Gallery Singapore, and Zoe Butt, formerly artistic director, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Vietnam.
The 31 artists selected to be part of the inaugural Ilham Art Show 2022 include Azizan Paiman, Azzaha Ibrahim, Blankmalaysia, CC Kua, Chang Yoong Chia, Cheng Yen Pheng, Chong Yan Chuah, Dhavinder Singh, Dipali Gupta, Eddie Wong, Engku Iman, Haffendi Anuar, Haris Abadi, Hasanul Isyraf Idris, Hoo Fan Chon, Ivan Lam, Izat Arif, Kamal Sabran, Kim, Kumpulan Ukir Kite’ Kelab Kebudayaan Mah Meri, Leon Leong, Mimi Aslinda, Minstrel Kuik, Pangrok Sulap, Samsudin Wahab, Sharon Chin, Tan Kian Ming, Tan Zi Hao, Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi, Tin and Theyvapaalan S Jayaratnam, and Yeoh Choo Kuan.
Each artist was awarded an art production grant to be put towards the making of their proposed work.
“We wanted the process to support the making of new work, experimental work. [This is] to enable artists to envision the kinds of works that they may not have had the opportunity to pursue in the past,” explained Rahel.
The Ilham Art Show 2022 includes a range of medium from painting, sculpture and installation, to video, and sound. The works explore complex narratives, from the personal to the political, from the historical to the conceptual. They address various subjects from contested histories, migration, and concepts of time to imagined worlds, rituals of healing, and connections to culture and land.
“Over the last few months, we have had the privilege of visiting the artists in their studios all over the country. It has been deeply gratifying to see those initial proposals on paper, slowly develop into these exciting artworks that now occupy the gallery space and wider building.”
Ilham Gallery also commissioned a group of young writers – Aminah Ibrahim, Denise Lai, Ellen Lee, Kat Rahmat, Sheau Yun Lim, Samantha Cheh, and Khat Mirzan – to interview the artists about their works.
Their writing which explores the ideas behind the work and the process of making is available online at http://www.ilhamgallery.com/resource-centre/ilhamartshow-2022/.
Ilham is also organising a series of public programmes in collaboration with the Ilham Art Show. Details of these programmes can be found on http://www.ilhamgallery.com/ programmes/. – The Vibes, May 19, 2022
