Showcasing Contemporary Malaysian Art and Social Issues
20 Dec
Author: SHAO ZIHAN
Editor：WU WENYU
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — The ILHAM 2025 Art Show is currently on view at ILHAM Gallery, running from November 2, 2025, to April 5, 2026. The exhibition features new works by 20 Malaysian contemporary artists and collectives, covering a variety of art forms, including painting, photography, textiles, installation, film, and video.
The ILHAM Art Show was established in 2022 and is held every three years, aiming to provide Malaysian artists with opportunities and resources to create new works. As the gallery’s only exhibition selected through an open call, the ILHAM Art Show provides an inclusive platform that supports contemporary art practices and promotes dialogue between artists and the public.
Following an open call in September 2024, the ILHAM 2025 Art Show received more than 270 submissions, from which a panel of judges selected 20 artists and collectives to participate.
Although there is no fixed curatorial theme for this exhibition, some shared concerns emerge across the works, including the fluidity of identity, reflections on history, environmental vulnerability, and constantly changing social relationships.
Da Bo Gong Book 2025 [Photo by SHAO ZIHAN]
Ong Hieng Fuong is an independent artist from Tanjong Sepat, Selangor. He revisits childhood memories in his painting series inspired by Da Bo Gong Book.
“My earliest encounter with visual imagination was through Da Bo Gong Book. When I reopened it years later, it felt like opening a memory box,” Ong said. “It connects my childhood in Malaysia with my life now and reminds me why I began drawing in the first place.”
Invasion & Resistance [Photo by SHAO ZIHAN]
Gan Chin Lee, an artist and educator, is currently a lecturer in the Fine Art Department at The One Academy. He presents Invasion & Resistance, an installation combining twelve lacquer paintings and a specific wooden structure on-site, resembling a traditional Chinese new village house.
“History gives us where we come from, but it is our present experience that truly shapes us,” he said, adding that his work seeks to transform lived experiences into a comprehensible structure of identity and place.
The ILHAM 2025 Art Show brings together a diverse range of artistic voices, showcasing the vitality of Malaysia’s contemporary art scene. The exhibition is open to the public for free and encourages visitors to reflect on contemporary social and cultural issues in Malaysia through the artworks.