Monday April 19, 2010

Lifetime Achievement Award for the Temple of Fine Arts

By SHARMILLA GANESAN

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Temple of Fine Arts (TFA) became the first organisation to be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (BCAA) held last night.

The occasion was extra significant as it was the last time that the event was being held.

In previous years, the honour, which comes with a RM5,000 prize sponsored by BOH Plantations, has typically been conferred upon a notable individual dedicated to the development of the local arts scene.

Honoured: CEO of BOH Plantation Caroline Russel (right) presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Vastala Sivadas, Lam Yui Kat and Ratha Shetty of TFA during the 8th Annual BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2009 yesterday. — M. AZHAR ARIF/The Star.

Founded in 1981 by the late Swami Shantanand Saraswathi, TFA has established itself as a thriving centre for the teaching and development of the arts, particularly Indian classical music and dance, giving birth to numerous illustrious names in the local and international arts scene.

Organised by online arts magazine Kakiseni, the BCAA aims to highlight achievements in the local arts scene and recognises contributions of artistes in the music, dance, theatre and musical theatre fields.

Kakiseni, which launched and ran the annual event for eight years, will be ceasing operations next month.

Sweeping the night’s awards was Prince Siddhartha the Musical by Musical Onstage Productions, which bagged 10 awards in the musical theatre category from its 12 nominations.

Dance performance The Legend of the Conchshell, by Kechara Organisation, also emerged a big winner, netting five awards from six nominations, including Best Featured Performer for Lee Swee Keong, Chan Soo Leng, Woon Fook Sen and Low Ming Yam.

Also honoured were Annexe Gallery’s arts programme director Pang Khee Teik, who received the Cross-Cultural Champion of the Arts Award, and upcoming dancer Mohd Yunus Ismail, who was awarded the Mandarin Oriental Most Promising Artist title.

This year’s BCAA saw nominees in the fields of dance, music, theatre and musical theatre competing for 37 awards and seven special awards, including the Kakiseni Audience Choice Awards, which was based on an online poll.

> For full coverage on BCAA, see tomorrow’s StarTwo