FOREWORD

Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen FASc President, Academy of Sciences Malaysia

The ASM ArtScienceTM Initiative celebrates the convergence of scientific, technological, and artistic progress. The ArtScienceTM Prize provides an opportunity for artists and scientists to display their masterpieces, allowing them to translate their creativity into a form of art that incorporates both art and science. This exhibition opens the door to visitors to enjoy the exhibits and immerse themselves in the various forms of art, which include paintings, sculptures, animations, and illustrations.

The integration of art, science, culture, and technology presents a unique opportunity to enhance our understanding of Planetary Health. ArtScienceTM may become an important means to promote awareness of the inextricable link between human life and the health of natural systems. Wise stewardship of the natural environment is essential for humanity to reverse the degradation of nature, a necessary step for a sustainable future.

This first-ever physical exhibition of ArtScienceTM brings together talented artists from across Malaysia, showcasing their artwork and providing them with a platform to enhance their scientific knowledge and artistic creativity. Through their artwork, they express and address society’s greatest concerns and challenges. By utilising art as one of the approaches towards understanding and appreciating Planetary Health, we may effectively communicate complex scientific concepts to the wider society in a people-friendly manner and foster a sense of responsibility towards protecting the environment.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Maybank Foundation and other strategic partners for their unwavering support of this initiative. Their generosity and dedication have made it possible to bring this exhibition to life. I also hope that this exhibition will serve as a catalyst for even greater collaboration and innovation in the future.

Izlyn Ramli CEO of Maybank Foundation

Maybank Group, through Maybank Foundation, is proud to serve community of all walks of life since its establishment in 1980s. In alignment with Maybank Foundation strategic direction, community programmes such as the exhibitions organised at Balai Seni Maybank throughout the year are anticipated to create a positive impact in communities of different backgrounds.

In a newfound strategic partnership between ASM and Maybank Foundation for the ASM ArtScienceTM Prize, we look forward to explore the exhibition through the fusion of art and science elements. ASM had first exhibited its ArtScienceTM Prize entitled Alangkah in Balai Seni Maybank through a virtual gallery in 2021. In continuation of this, we are excited to see the second ArtScienceTM Prize. This time around it will be a physical exhibition to showcase the top 23 ArtScienceTM creations from artists across Malaysia.

Entitled ‘ArtScienceTM Lens on Planetary Health’, this exhibition is aligned with the Maybank Foundation’s 3 pillars namely Education, Sustainability & Community Empowerment, and Arts & Culture. I believe that it is important for the community to understand the concept of Planetary Health through this exhibition. It connects human well-being with the well-being of the Earth, including both its living and non-living systems. This is indeed a concept that should be acknowledged and learned by Malaysian citizen as anything we do will effectively shaped the future of our planet.

In view of the inclining global issues related to climate change recently, this exhibition could empower the community to understand different factors that affect the health of our planet from different angles and perspectives. This in turn will create a meaningful, measurable, and sustainable impacts, complementing Maybank Foundation’s aspiration to touch lives wherever we can to empower communities to build a better future, both for present and future generations.

My highest appreciation goes to ASM for organising the ArtScienceTM Prize competition and exhibition for the second time. I would also like to convey my appreciation to the president of ASM and their management, the ArtScienceTM Initiative Chairperson, the ArtScienceTM Steering Committee and subcommittee members, the curator and everyone who was involved in this collaboration. My warmest congratulations to all participating artists for such great works!

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the Arts. This interest wove itself into my work when I was given the responsibility to set up and manage the National Planetarium in 1990. Tasked with producing shows and large format movies for the domed Space Theatre, I realised very quickly that to make my stories understandable yet compelling to the audience, I had to combine science with the ingredients of art. Thus began a challenging journey as there was little experience and interest available in such endeavours back then. Nevertheless, aside from the usual theatre shows, with the help of many friends, I produced and curated activities such as art and fashion competitions, plays, poetry readings, and even musical performances, all based on space science.

While this was gratifying, I felt the need to nurture, not just feed off, talent. I knew there was this group of talent who had not come forth and this emboldened me to set up the Artist-in-Residence programme and, of particularly profound impact, the Science-Inspired-Arts (ALAMI) Camps with the National Art Gallery. Bringing prominent scientists together with exceptionally talented artists in various fields and practices was the achievement of a lifetime dream for me.

I lost the financial and administrative backing of the National Planetarium and the National Space Agency when I retired. Dismayed, I could see that my work remained incomplete as the milieu that could support the convergence of the arts and sciences was still not prevalent. I had to take action. And thus, the idea was born to set up the ArtScienceTM Initiative under the auspices of the ASM. The rest is history.

I am eternally grateful to Puan Zanita Anuar of the National Art Gallery who was my partner in establishing the ALAMI Camp series and Puan Hazami Habib, the CEO of ASM, who helped me navigate the ASM waters to get the ArtScienceTM Initiative and Prize off the ground. I would also like to thank those dear friends, too many to mention, but I will give a shout-out to Ar. Hijjas Kasturi and Encik Ahmad Faezal, the former Head, CR & Maybank Foundation Secretariat of Maybank Foundation, who have unfailingly supported my sometimes-wild dreams. Our work is not done. This exhibition at Maybank is part of the long journey we still need to take.