AT AN ART FAIR

Adnang Osmang sent me an invitation to the International Contemporary Art Fair 2008 at the Mid Valley Exhibition Center. Since my friend Razak is also a painter and wanted to know Adnan and his works, I dragged him along.

Guests were supposed to be in the hall by 10.30 am but it being a school holiday, an empty parking spot is very hard to find. After making several rounds, Razak decided to forgo good manners just once and parked between two pillars, making sure that his car did not block traffic. My friend, although in a hurry, was not inconsiderate. It turned out that we hurried for nothing.

The opening ceremony started an hour late. The VVIP was YB Tan Sri Muhammad bin Muhammad Taib and we guessed that he was held up at the weekly Cabinet meeting. We had time to soak up the surroundings including this pretty young lady in kebaya who was one of the emcee.
While waiting, guests were entertained by a singer from Senegal. The programme said it was King Lhota. He had a friend doing break dance.
After the VVIP arrived, there was a painting demonstration by Patrick Lasak who painted a scene of a waterfall in less than 20 minutes.
Then came the speeches. YB Tan Sri Muhammad seemed to have improved his reading of English since the Cash and Carry Brisbane episode. He read his speech reasonably well and went on to declare the Fair officially open. If you like art, you can see works of artists from 8 countries (Canada, France, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines and Singapore.) The last day of the Fair is on 30th November. Admission is free. Adnan's booth is number 54. He has many landscapes of Terengganu on sale. The one between him and Razak is his depiction of the boats at Merang jetty.
You can also get a book with some colour pictures of the works of all the artists taking part in the Fair. The book is RM 30 each or 2 for RM50. If you get the autograph, NRIC/Passport number and name of all the participating artists, you are offered a 20% discount on the work of art you purchase at the event.

Labels: Adnan Osman, International Contemporary Art Fair 2008