Ministry Of Tourism Malaysia Unveils New Art Wave To Attract High-Yield Tourists
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2010 - The Minister of Tourism Malaysia, YB Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen today announced yet another exciting and innovative tourism product, the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism 2010" (or MCAT 2010) Festival which aims at targeting more high-yield tourists to come to Malaysia.MCAT 2010, the brainchild of YB Dato' Sri Dr. Ng as an effort to spur the development of the local contemporary art scene, is the first ever Malaysia's contemporary art event and will be held annually from July to September each year. It will showcase the most explosive, dynamic and provocative art produced by internationally-acclaimed Malaysian-born artists, and hosting of exhibitions as well as seminars nationwide.
For a start, MCAT 2010 is aimed at establishing Malaysia as a reputable destination for art aficionados in the region to enjoy and acquire contemporary art, with museum-quality pieces. It is also hoped to create initiates among owners of art galleries to launch new pieces by young artists that will set the trend for the next few years.
Speaking at a media conference, YB Dato' Sri Dr. Ng said the Ministry believes that MCAT 2010 will educate, excite and inspire both local and foreign visitors particularly on the beauty and variety of contemporary art.
We are indeed very glad to introduce MCAT & Malaysia's first Contemporary Art Tourism Festival. With rising interest and demand for contemporary creative works, I hope that this event will serve as a meeting point for art enthusiasts, gallery owners, artists as well as new generation of collectors from all over the world in forging business alliance, acquiring new contemporary art works, sharing ideas and exchanging information - all under one roof. Of course, to discover and learn about the new contemporary Malaysia."
The Ministry of Tourism Malaysia hopes through 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Festival, we will be able to attract more high-yield tourists which is expected to also increase the contribution towards the economic spin-off through new market niche areas in the tourism industry.
Through this new innovative, tourism industry being among the 12 main National Key Economic Areas (NKEA), we believe the country will be able to achieve the goal as stated in the 10th Malaysia Plan that the industry will contribute RM115 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with two million jobs created by 2015," added Dato' Sri Dr Ng.
Local and foreign visitors who enjoy spending time browsing in art galleries, will have the opportunity to view many sculptures and art works, revealed for the first time in Kuala Lumpur at Galeria Seri Perdana, Starhill Art Gallery, National Art Gallery, PETRONAS Gallery, Malaysia Tourism Centre (or MaTiC); Folk Art Gallery in Melaka and IMCAS 2010 Danga City Mall in Johor.
Among the key highlights of the Festival will be a display of Aliya and Farouk Khan's personal collection as well as several exciting and vibrant works by some of the best internationally-acclaimed Malaysian artists, both young and established ones such as Abdul Multhalib Musa, who is regarded as one of Malaysia's leading contemporary sculptors; Fauzan Omar; Annuar Rashid; abstract expressionist Yusoff Ghani; Eng Hwee Chu; visual artist/writer A. Jegadeva; Dhavinder Gill and many more.
Other art works that will be showcased include those by Ahmad Zaki Anwar, Hamir Saib, Tan Chin Kuan, Shooshie Sulaiman, Eng Hwee Chu, Umi Baizurah Mahir, Kaw Leong Kang, Anthony Chang, Rajinder Singh, Bayu Utomo, Fauzan Mustapha, Stephen Menon, Ivan Lam and the list goes on. Besides the presence of curators and art collectors during the three-month period, world-renowned speakers such as Mika Kuraya from Japan and Russell Storer from Australia will also be there to conduct the seminars.
The Ministry of Tourism Malaysia is also highlighting the Festival via its Tourism Art Trail - a directory that contains a listing of contemporary art galleries, seminars and talks on Malaysia's contemporary art scene, information on places where tourists can visit as well as events that they can attend or participate.
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