From 1 to 30 June, Australian art lovers, collectors and the public had the privilege of personally getting acquainted with Malaysia arts at a special exhibition titled ‘Penang Art Society @ Melbourne’ that took place at the astonishing gallery at SpACE@Collins, Collins St, Melbourne, Victoria. Organised by Penang Art Society (PAS) Malaysia and curated by the society’s President, Ch’ng Huck Theng emphasized that this first of its kind exhibition is a cross cultural exchange event to encourage cultural immersion, to promote international understanding and goodwill between Malaysia and Australia. The PAS@Melbourne marked an important milestone for the Society as it is the first ever art exhibition down under.

Dato Dr Rameez (left) acquired “Peace In The Village” from artist Yeoh Teik Hooi (right) with President Ch’ng witnessing the presentation

The exhibition was officiated by the Consul General of Malaysia to Australia in Melbourne, Dato Dr Mohammad Rameez Yahaya. ‘‘PAS has provided an important platform to nourishing and promoting the Malaysian art and culture scene. As we all know that people nowadays are emphasizing more towards the quality of life, arts and culture play important roles in enabling people from different background and different races to understand each other hence making this a better and peaceful planet to live in. The Malaysian government is proud of PAS’s effort in bringing Malaysia arts and culture to Australia and I would like to congratulate its President, Mr Ch’ng Huck Theng for taking this initiative to make possible this exhibition,’’ said Dato Dr Rameez in his speech. He further added that this is an important step to not only provide an exposure for the Malaysian artists but more important sharing and bridging the bond between two great countries.

‘PAS@Melbourne’ featured a collection of artworks from 20 renowned Malaysian artists, whose works have been exhibited at various international biennales and art shows, ranging from the Malaysian modern to contemporary art. President Ch’ng said in his statement, ‘‘having celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2013, the PAS is the oldest registered art society in Malaysia with over 500 members and still growing. Established in the 1950’s, it was set up with the objective of consolidating various artworks from the region including paintings, photography, Chinese calligraphy, poetry, music, dance performances, bonsai, feng shui and others, to preserve and further promote these cultures. ’’

Among the VIPs that attended this colourful event were Turkish Consulate General, Ersel Ozdemir, Felix Wong Director from Echo3 Media, Colin Abbot from AMBC, Ita Puspitasari Consulate for Social Cultural Affairs Indonesia and Councillor Ken Ong.

从6月1日至6月30日，澳大利亚艺术爱好者、收藏家和公众在“槟城艺术社会@墨尔本”中感受到马来西亚艺术的创作思维和轨迹，这个在维多利亚墨尔本柯林斯街 SpACE@Collins 举行的展览会也以美好姿态带领马来西亚艺术走向国际舞台。

槟城艺术协会 (Penang Art Society) 主席兼策展人庄学腾强调，这是首次跨文化展览和交流活动，鼓励与促进马来西亚和澳大利亚国际间的相互了解。“槟城艺术社会@墨尔本”是代表着艺术交流飞跃的重要里程碑。

受邀主持展览会推展仪式的马来西亚驻澳大利亚总领事拿督莫哈末拉米茲博士强调，马来西亚政府为这个展览会的成功举办感到骄傲，并且全力支持类似国际文化交流的活动。

他说，槟城艺术协会提供了重要平台，促进马来西亚艺术和文化的场景。如今人们更注重生活质量，而艺术和文化在其中扮演着重要的角色，使不同背景、种族的人们了解彼此，让大家活在一个更好、更和平的星球。

他表扬艺术协会主席庄学腾努力不懈的推动才能成全这个跨区域的交流展会。“近3年来，庄学腾作为出色的倡导者，不遗余力的在两国之间搭建艺术桥梁，希望往后有更多我国艺术家、画廊能够在国际文化艺术项目中崛起，无论是策展或者参与。”

成立于1950年的槟城艺术协会在 2013 年迎来 60 周年纪念，是马来西亚历史最悠久的协会组织。目前协会会员已增进至500人，艺术协会除了持续着前人的步伐，也开拓国际联系及倡导艺术民风。而会员们的艺术特长多样化，包括绘画、摄影、中国书法、诗歌、音乐、舞蹈表演，盆景和风水等。而这次20名的艺术家也带来了40多个特色展览作品。

出席参观展会的有土耳其总领事 Ersel Ozdemir，Echo3 Media集团的总裁 Felix Wong，AMBC 的代表Colin Abbot，印尼社会与文化事务总领事 Ita Puspitasari 和 墨尔本市议员 Ken Ong。