''Rankin Street, 1953'' in contention for SAP People's Choice
Contemporary art may not be the most thriving of scenes in Bangladesh, but Naeem Mohaiemen has taken his country to one of the top platforms in the Asia Pacific region, being selected as one of the 15 finalists for the prestigious Signature Art Prize organised by the Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation, which is currently being exhibited at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM).
While there are three grand prizes that will be decided by the jury, there is a People's Choice Award, worth 10,000 Singapore Dollars, that will be decided entirely on the basis of online votes. The voting lines opened on November 14 (when the exhibition opened) and will continue till January 21. So far, Naeem Mohaiemen's artwork “Rankin Street, 1953” (mixed media installation with video, blueprint drawings, vintage photographs and matching sandstone moulds) is in fifth position in the race. There's stiff competition for the top spot in the People's Choice category between “Custos Cavum” (“Guardian of the Hole”) by South Korea's Choe u-Ram, and “Mirage – Disused Public Property in Taiwan” by Yao Jui-chung and Lost Society Document.
Voters can log in using their social media accounts or create accounts using email addresses at -- singaporeartmuseum.sg/signatureartprize/gallery.php -- and can vote for their favourite artwork once every 24 hours. Every week, three winners will be chosen via lottery, who will win exclusive SAM merchandise, while one lucky voter will win an Apple iPad 2 Air 16GB tablet computer.
In a country like Bangladesh where contemporary art is still a relatively new concept, a win for Naeem Mohaiemen -- particularly in a public voting category -- at a significant competition of the region could be very good news for art connoisseurs and practitioners alike, as it will expectedly open up new avenues of exposure for the practice of a new medium of arts.
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