The One Academy awarded over RM600,000 worth of scholarships and prizes during Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Young Artists Awards 2015

The One Academy prestigious annual art awards ceremony, namely the 18^th Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Young Artists Awards 2015, was held at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, and officiated by Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Learning II YB P. Kamalanathan, in conjunction with the release of ‘Inside Out’, animated film feature by Disney or Pixar Studios, where more than RM600,000 worth of scholarships and prizes were awarded.

In this distinguished art awards ceremony, about thousands of students nationwide gathered to witness its unfolding. Earlier in the morning, the last batch of secondary school students was competing in the main competition (Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Young Artists Awards 2015) in its final venue in Klang Valley. This competition had already been held in 8 other locations - Kota Kinabalu and Tawau, Sabah; Sibu and Kuching, Sarawak; Ipoh, Perak; Batu Pahat and Johor Bharu, Johor; and Georgetown, Penang.

It was not an easy task to choose the winners as there were many extraordinary artworks that deserved commendations but finally, it was – Ho Wen Hong, 17, from Penang who grabbed the Gold Award, Chen Syin Yi, 16, from Selangor who grabbed the Silver Award and Amita Sevellaraja, 17, from Malacca who grabbed the Bronze Award.

“Recently, we have just rolled out the 11^th Malaysian Plan and unveil our strive to improve the quality of education to better student outcomes and institutional excellence. The government paid a signification consideration to the education sector which has received the biggest allocation fund according to Budget 2015 whereby RM100 million has been allocated to set up the Digital Content Industry Fund under the Communications and Multimedia Commission to further develop the creative industries,” said YB P. Kamalanathan in his opening speech.

“Therefore, I would like to congratulate The One Academy for their achievement and vital contributions to the education sector which is in line with the country’s vision for the future. I would also like to congratulate The One Academy for cultivating the spirit of excellence in the creative industry among students by giving over RM4.6 million worth of scholarships since it (this competition) was first established. Dreams are usually fulfilled because of stable economic background but it was you (The One Academy) that helped to fulfill the dream,” he added.

Tan Chin Wee, Dean and Director of The One Academy said, “We believe in acknowledging the creativity and hard work displayed by all the young talents especially The One Academy students as we ourselves know the sweat, blood and tears that go into each and every artwork and how much practice and effort one needs to put to produce an extremely good artwork.”

Besides giving out the main award, The One Academy also presented other awards to its students – Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Creative Youth Awards 2015 – Platinum Achievers, The One Academy Student Creative Awards 2015 (TOASCA 2015) and International Industry Awards 2015.

The Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Creative Youth Awards 2015 – Platinum Achievers Awards are given to graduates who have made a name for themselves in the creative industry and have won world-class achievements globally. The recipients of this award were Stephen Chan, Benjamin Cheong, Hor Yew Pong, Johnson Ting, Jarold Sng, Marvin Chan, Navin Danapal, Benjamin Encarnacion, Easy Cheah and Andrea Goh.

Next in the tradition of this awards ceremony – The One Academy Student Creative Awards 2015 (TOASCA 2015), customarily awarded to students in recognition of their outstanding creativity and effort in developing a variety of projects. The winners are – Ellie Yong and Soon King Yaw from Digital Animation with their works ‘The Repairman’ for the Best of the Best Award; Steven Felix, Puwandi, Hooi Kah Suit and Ang Tze Ping from Multimedia Design with New Media and Interactive Design with their works ‘Love Generator New Media Challenge 2014’ for the Best Idea Award; Chan Hsieh Hua and Hei Shu Yun from Illustration, Movie & Game Art with their project ‘Life On Air’ for the Best Skill Award; and Low Yee Wen, Lee Hui Ru, Shim Poh Ling, Low Ching Hong and Ho Shiau Huai from Advertising & Graphic Design with their project Bucketful of Surprises (KFC) for Creative Achiever Award.  

The International Industry Awards 2015, an award that commemorates The One Academy’s current students who have won international industry awards and prestigious creative awards around the globe. More than 20 students received this award from almost every major for winning first prize in competitions.

Visitors of Malaysia Top 10 Outstanding Young Artists Awards 2015 can also explore the ‘Best Collection Art Exhibition’ where the best of The One Academy students’ works were showcased through 7 major exhibitions or works of experts – Kobe Sek, an exceptional graduate from The One Academy who was Concept Artist of popular game Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and is now Associate Art Director of Ubisoft Singapore; Johnson Ting, another exceptional graduate from the academy whose works include Mortal Kombat X (2015) by NetherRealm Studios and has one of his works selected as ’35 of the best graphic designs of 2014’ by From Up North™, a top creative design blog collecting inspiring designs all over the world; and Eduardo Pena, Concept Artist of the Hobbits Trilogy. They can also watch Digital Painting demonstrations, Fine Art Life Drawing sessions or participate in unique interactive booths featuring augmented reality and animation and attend a creative seminar from 1pm onwards to get a feel of what the creative industry is like.      

As one of the leading creative institutions in the country, The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programme and continues to nurture its students passionately by providing diploma and degree courses namely Digital Animation with Game Development, Interior Design, Advertising & Graphic Design, Multimedia Design with New Media & Interactive Design, Illustration, Movie & Game Art, ESMOD Fashion Design & Pattern Making and Fine Arts.

For more information on events held at The One Academy, visit www.toaevents.com. For more information on courses offered in The One Academy, visit www.toa.edu.my or call +603-5637 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].