In a spirit of giving back and encouraging the up-and-coming generation, Aviagen^® Asia Pacific recently sponsored the first “Hatching Young Artists” (HYA) contest. Appropriately themed “Chicken” by the global poultry genetics company, the contest was open to all students of fine arts at universities in Thailand, who were able to use the art medium of their choice. The Aviagen team is proud to announce Nicharat Ananthirawat from Silpakorn University as the contest winner, along with Pornteb Chaichana from Poh-Chang Academy of Arts, Rajamangala, University of Technology Rattanakosin, and Nawapon Madsude from Poh-Chang Academy of Arts Rajamangala, University of Technology Rattanakosin, as the second and third runners up. They were chosen from over 100 entries received.

During a ceremony on Nov. 16, held at the Aviagen Asia Pacific Bangkok office, where all the selected pieces were on display, the winners were honored with monetary prizes and certificates; all the shortlisted artists were also invited to attend. The whole Asia Pacific team also joined through a live Zoom broadcast. The winning masterpieces will be featured in Aviagen Asia Pacific promotional campaigns in the coming year.

Dr. Rafael Monleon, Business Manager for Aviagen Asia Pacific, commented, “Aviagen is committed to champion people in areas of the world where we operate. We feel art plays a huge role in stimulating creativity and imagination, which are crucial to our business in growing and changing with the times. This support is especially vital in a year when funding for the arts has generally been reduced, as the impact of COVID-19 ripples throughout global and regional economies.”

Dominic Elfick, International Product Manager for Aviagen Asia Pacific noted, “I am very proud to see our team supporting these young artists. It is very gratifying to see the contest brought to fruition with such excellent and varied submissions.”

Challenging contest to judge

The contest was judged by a panel consisting of Dr. Monleon, Jaruvipa (Nikki) Tantisaswat, Aviagen Asia Pacific Marketing Manager, as well as the following external judges:

• Associate Professor Noppadon Natdee, Poh-Chang Academy of Arts Rajamangala, University of Technology Rattanakosin
• Dr. Thawit Wongplai, Arts Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University
• Assistant Professor Dr. Chakapong Phaetlakfa, Art Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University
• Dr. Triwit Phijitplakas (Ph.D.), Head of the Department of Art Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University

Assistant Professor Dr. Chakapong Phaetlakfa remarked that “I was overwhelmed by the variety of pieces and exceptional standard of work, making the job of selecting the winning works very challenging.”

Thanking all who applied, Tantisaswat stated, “In our minds, each entrant is a winner. These young artists have pushed the boundaries on how we think about our birds.” She added that Aviagen plans to make the contest an annual event, and she is looking forward to seeing next year’s entries.”

Check out the entries here: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix....