2026 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) Competition

Overview

The UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) competition is a national painting competition organized by United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd. Entrants compete in one of two categories—Emerging Artist or Established Artist—and submissions are judged on message, creativity, composition, and technique by a panel of local and/or overseas artists, art critics, curators, or other creative professionals appointed by UOBM. The Malaysian country winner advances to the regional UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year competition alongside winners from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam; one of the five country winners will be selected for an art residency programme via judges' interview.

Eligibility

• Open to Malaysian citizens and Malaysian Permanent Residents only
• Minimum age 16 years as at July 31, 2026; participants aged 18 and under require parental or legal guardian consent
• Participants with citizenship of Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam must enter in their country of citizenship
• Each participant may enter only one category (Emerging Artist or Established Artist) and may submit only one entry

Category Requirements

• Emerging Artist: open to aspiring artists pursuing art education, taking first steps toward an art career, or painting for pleasure
• Established Artist: must meet at least three of five criteria—current or past representation by a commercial art gallery; artworks sold independently or gallery-assisted; participation in at least one group or solo exhibition; receipt of a grant or commission from a commercial entity, institution, or organization; or receipt of an art-related award, locally or internationally

Media & Size

• Accepted media: acrylic, batik, Chinese brush, collage, crayon, ink, mixed media, oil, watercolour, or other painting media
• Digital artworks, installations, and sculptures are not accepted
• Collages, two-dimensional embossed paintings, and three-dimensional paintings acceptable, subject to maximum thickness of 5 cm including frames
• Maximum 180 cm in height and width, excluding frames (or combined dimensions if the work consists of multiple paintings)
• Paintings must be original and created no more than two years prior to the submission date
• Artworks previously awarded or acknowledged in other art competitions may not be submitted

Awards

• Established Artist Category: UOB Painting of the Year Award RM100,000; Gold Award RM45,000; Silver Award RM35,000; Bronze Award RM22,000; UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Award (regional) SGD13,000; Residency Programme (one of five country winners)
• Emerging Artist Category: Most Promising Artist of the Year Award RM16,000; Gold Award RM11,000; Silver Award RM8,000; Bronze Award RM6,000

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: 31 July 2026
• Shortlisted Artwork Physical Submission: August 21–23, 2026
• Finalist Notification: on or before August 26, 2026
• Non-Finalist Entry Return/Collection: August 25–26, 2026
• Award Ceremony: September 2026 (exact date at UOBM's discretion)
• UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Award Ceremony: October 2026, Singapore (exact date at UOB Group's discretion)

Application & Fees

Online application. Application fee: None.

Additional Information

• Judging is final; no correspondence regarding judges' decisions will be entertained
• A proxy may submit or collect a shortlisted/submitted painting with signed authorisation letter and copy of participant's passport or identity card
• Finalists must attend the award ceremony in September 2026 or risk disqualification
• Winners must grant UOBM unlimited, worldwide, royalty-free, exclusive license to exhibit, archive, and reproduce images of winning entries
• All award-winning entries become sole property of UOB Group
• Winners must participate in future promotional activities on voluntary, unpaid basis