MESSAGE FROM THE ROYAL PATRON

DYTM Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail
D.K., S.P.M.P., P.A.T.
Crown Prince of Perlis, Malaysia

DYTM Tuanku Hajjah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil
S.P.M.P.
Crown Princess of Perlis, Malaysia

Time does fly fast, and it is already the 6th edition of the International Art Expo Malaysia. It appeared like only yesterday when the Malaysian-inspired trade fair was struggling on its feet, starting from scratch in what is a very competitive field.

Not that it is having an easy time now, but the experience of the past has put it in a good stead and the momentum coupled by the innovative changes the organisers put in every year, have seen the Art Expo Malaysia grown and now accepted as a fixture in the regional art calendar.

We, as the Royal Patron, have watched over the growth of the Art Expo Malaysia, and are proud of its achievements and progress. As year goes by, we see better quality of artworks and even masterpieces by some of the most famous names in the art world, we see increasing visitorship and most importantly the increasing awareness towards art appreciation in the public, we see increasing media coverage on the Expo be it locally or abroad as it is worth reporting about, we see participation from more countries, just to mention a few.

It is achieved via the hard work and painstaking effort by the organisers, where they overcome daunting challenges and obstacles, keep on striving to improve on the quality of the Expo in every aspects to meet international expectation. This is the Malaysian fighting spirit.

We hope the organisers would keep on adding new programmes and come up with interesting attractions, in order to value-add and also to make the Art Expo Malaysia something special that the art enthusiasts, whether at home or abroad, are keen to visit every year.

The Expo has brought the visual arts industry in Malaysia a big leap forward. Syabas!

YB Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen

Art has become a major attraction in today’s modern lifestyle and cultural entertainment.

Despite being a niche sector, art tourism has tremendous potential as a revenue generator appealing to tourists with more affluent spending habits.

The 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism (1MCAT) Festival which runs over a three-month period (July to September) showcases the various art-related events, exhibitions and talents of many Malaysian artists around the country. When it was first launched in 2010, 1MCAT recorded art sales of RM 14 million, and last year, the Festival recorded RM 17 million in art sales. I am truly pleased to note that the International Art Expo Malaysia has made great strides with its increasing number of visitors and sales turnover from year to year.

On that note, I would like to congratulate the organiser and all those involved in making the International Art Expo Malaysia 2012 a resounding success!

Thank You.

Dr. Wong Lai Sum

Congratulations to Art Expo Malaysia Sdn Bhd on organising the International Art Expo Malaysia. I am confident that the Expo, which is now in its 6th year, will continue to build upon its success and achievements from previous editions.

As one of the industry’s most prominent exhibitions in the country, the Expo provides an excellent opportunity for art aficionados from all over the world to purchase works by Malaysian and foreign artists.

Many would dream of owning masterpieces from renaissance, impressionist, and expressionist artists. I am confident that many can look forward to unearthing new talent and owning art pieces from budding Rembrandt, Picasso or Joan Miro here at this exhibition.

As a rapidly-developing nation, Malaysia hopes to emulate the success of cities such as Paris, New York and London where the arts and creative industry created numerous opportunities and wealth for its citizens.

MATRADE as the national trade promotion agency of Malaysia is supportive of this industry, or what we call “soft exports”, which has potential to grow and become an import contributor to the country’s economy.

Through a global network of more than 40 overseas trade offices, MATRADE will continue to support Malaysian companies involved in art and the creative sector to expand into markets overseas.

With that, I wish all exhibitors success in the 6th International Art Expo Malaysia 2012.

Ambassador Dato' Mohd Yusof Ahmad

The growing awareness and appreciation for the visual arts are evident from the increasing circuit of art biennales, triennales, art fairs / expos and other related events taking place in the region and around the world. The last few years were indeed opportune time for Malaysia to promote the best of artists has to offer the world. Spearheading this effort locally since 2006 is the organiser of the International Art Expo Malaysia. This yearly event offers not only opportunities for local galleries to showcase the works of artists they represent to both local and foreign art lovers, it also broadens the local collectors’ experience as interesting works by artists from around the world too are made available by their representative galleries here.

The National Visual Arts Gallery Malaysia is pleased to again lend our support to the organisers of Art Expo Malaysia 2012 as they continue their good work in bringing Malaysian art in particular and the visual arts in general to a higher level. Their efforts should be emulated by other organisers and supporters of the visual arts as this will in the long run contribute to the growth of a vibrant and competitive art scene. I am confident that this year’s Art Expo Malaysia will have much surprises in store for art lovers and a handsome financial return for art dealers as well. All of these developments bode well and are in line with the government’s aspirations to see the local creative industries grow to be at par with the more developed countries in the world.

I look forward to seeing Kuala Lumpur becoming one of the top art hubs in the region. My heartiest congratulations to the organisers of Art Expo Malaysia 2012. And to all the artists as well as the galleries participating in this event, my sincere thank you for sharing with us your fine artistry.

Prof. Wang Xijing

Platform like Art Expo Malaysia provides opportunity for creativity, ideas and cultural exchange. While contributing to the country’s economy, it also enhances friendship between the participating countries, as well as nurturing the interest towards arts in the public. I am glad to see an increase in awareness towards art appreciation, especially since the launch of Art Expo Malaysia six years ago, and also the yearly improvement of the Expo.

We are glad to be involved in this meaningful mammoth art event, where Shaanxi Artists Association is coming in as the co-organiser (together with the National Visual Arts Gallery Malaysia). We are ready and most willing to fully support such good effort by the organisers. We will learn from each other’s strength, discuss and explore on different ideas, with one aim – to further improve on the standard of Art Expo Malaysia, so as to bolster its position as one of the important art fairs in the region.

Shaanxi Artists Association is also presenting an exhibition showcasing Chinese ink paintings by 20 members, here in Art Expo Malaysia 2012, to celebrate and commemorate the 38 years of bilateral
relationship between China and Malaysia. Cheers!

Vincent Sim Tiak Choo

The Art Expo, or Art Fair as some call it, is a modern phenomenon. Like it or not, it has come to stay, although the doomsayers have been quick to write its obituary.

Everywhere all over the world, new art fairs have sprouted – some to serve regional interests despite its more globalized outreach. They operate relatively on a more modest scale as they are new and can be only a shadow of the biggies such as the Armory Show, the Frieze Art Fair and Art Basel.

Madrid curator Paco Barragan had proclaimed as much in his eponymous book, The Age of Art Fairs, as the biggest transformation in the art market.

In an ever-changing game in a dog-eat-dog world of the art extravaganza showcase, Malaysia’s own – the Art Expo Malaysia may not be a game-changer, but we do keep pace and keep changing with the rules of the game, to build on the foundation, success and goodwill of our experiences since we started it in 2007. It seems like a very long time, although I already got into the game when I was the impresario in another art expo in Malacca in 2006.

A year seems a pretty long time in the art-fair business. In this touch-and-go business with so many variables, so many imponderables, ill-luck and mistakes could prove to demoralising and financially brutal.

We are aware of the changing dynamics, the changing equations, although so far, we are assessing and gauging those art fairs in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as our guides.

China is, after all, the leading art market for the second successive year, proving that its sovereignty in the first year was no fluke. In 2011, according to the authoritative Artprice which published the Art Market Trends 2011, China snared 41.4% of the market share, grand-totalling US$ 4.79 billion out of the US$ 11.57 billion world figure. This was an increase of US$ 2 billion from 2010.

In the world art auction, China has Guardian as No. 3 (US$ 901.8 million from art sales); Poly International fourth (US$ 901.6 million); Beijing Council fifth (US$ 298 million) and Beijing Hanhai, seventh. China artists took up six slots in the Top 10 grossers of 2011!

So, one can’t be too far miscued still, by keeping an eye on the China market which is still holding fine despite more bleak economic news.

It is not an easy task to jump into what is essentially a big-boys’ game, when Malaysia was still in its infancy in art awareness, appreciation and acquisition. Whether one sees it as a head start or a premature gambit, I must say that on hindsight, the Art Expo Malaysia has expedited the process and position Malaysia strategically in the new growth of the global art industry.

It is all about a synergy of the various elements of art development. The emergence of Art Expo Malaysia; the Henry Butcher Art Auction Malaysia; the 1MCAT (1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism) Festival; arts festivals such as the George Town Festival and the Sasaran Arts Festival; art galleries and spaces and museums; art magazines, print and online; art residencies in Malaysia and all over the world; art biennales / triennales / quadrennials / quintennials; arts infrastructures and art-related activities…

The bottom-line to the success of all these can be summed up in one letter: $. On this, a stronger support from the government and public sector is crucially needed for the upgrading to the next level, to say the least, keep up the sustenance.

Whatever, Enjoy, for I strongly believe in the celebration of best possible of human artistic expressions from all over.

Lastly, we take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to the Royal Patron DYTM Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail and DYTM Tuanku Hajjah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil, the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Melaka T.Y.T Tun Datuk Seri Utama Mohd Khalil bin Yaakob, the Minister of Tourism YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, the CEO of Matrade Dr. Wong Lai Sum, the Director- General of National Visual Arts Gallery Malaysia Ambassador Dato’ Mohd Yusof Ahmad, the Chairman of Shaanxi Artists Association Prof. Wang Xijing, the adviser Datuk Marcus Tan Ser Lay, the CEO of Secret Recipe Dato’ Steven Sim, the participating exhibitors, the friends from media, and the supporters. Thank You!