PENANG, 21 June 2018 – The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF) once again has the privilege to hold an international-level art exhibition entitled “THE 4^TH SEE TO SEA ART EXHIBITION” by the 2 Lays Group, featuring the works of ten artists from Southern Thailand.

The ten artists comprised of lecturers and teachers in visual and creative design arts from the Prince of Songkhla University (Pattani Campus) and Rajamangala University of Technology, Srivijaya.

The Acting Consul-General of Thailand in Penang, Mr. Sukoom Somprasonk, was present to officiate the opening ceremony. He stated that the exhibition will provide a good opportunity to experience and sample part of the Thai culture and arts. He also congratulated MGTF USM, led by its Director, Mr. Zolkurnian Hassan for taking the initiative to organise and hold such an exhibition.

The USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail, said that by working together with the various universities, she hopes to promote cooperation in organising and managing world-class art exhibitions of different genre of arts.

“This is the first time for me to come to an art exhibition as a hard-core scientist and I am very happy to be here,” she remarked.

She said, MGTF has been actively bringing artists from other parts of the world to hold thematic exhibitions in USM and she believes that such collaborations and co-learning programmes with others will lead to successful outcomes.

“Character-building is very important, as we teach our students the values and morality in maintaining a good relationship with others,” she added.

“The presence of Mr. Somprasonk at the exhibition will further promote greater working relationship and exchange in areas of cultural, academic and human resource among the institutions involved, not to mention between both Malaysia and Thailand.”

Meanwhile Somprasonk said, “70 artworks will be on display for the exhibition at the museum. In addition to the 10 artists, 3 guest artists have also joined in as part of the showcase.”

“So far, this is the fourth exhibition held by the group, and the first to be held outside Thailand. USM has been given the honour to host the group’s inaugural exhibition in Penang.

“On top of that, the exhibition aims to present a variety of artworks created by contemporary Thailand artists, to be shared with art enthusiasts and the public outside of Thailand,” he said.

“The exhibition also serves to demonstrate the way of life of the people in Southern Thailand, who live in harmony with nature, preserving their cultural heritage, in addition to promoting international cultural diversity and contributing to a harmonious world.”

Text: Puteri Najwa Othman (MPRC intern)/Editing: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin