PART 2---MIKI CHOONG'S INAUGURAL ARTESPREE ART BALL ON 4 NOVEMBER 2018 WAS A WORK OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE GRACED BY THEIR HIGHNESSES THE CROWN PRINCE AND CROWN PRINCESS OF PERLIS, Y.A.M TENGKU ZAHARIAH SULTAN SALAHUDDIN, EU EMABSSADOR MARIA CASTILLO FERNANDEZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NATIONAL ART GALLERY, AMBASSADORS AND VIPS. HELD AT FOR SEASONS WHICH IS ALSO A CONCRETE WORK OF ART UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF TOM ROEBLES, ENTERTAINMENT WAS PROVIDED BY CLASSICAL RENDITIONS OF OPERATIC SONGS AND MUSIC BY THE TALENTED TEAM OF DATO SHAFINAZ SELAMAT WHILE AWARDS WERE GIVEN TO DESERVING ARTISTS OF VARIOUS GENRE INCLUDING THE LATE DATO PATRICK LIM WHOSE AWARD WAS ACCEPTED BY HIS WIDOW DATIN HO MENG CHOY. THE VERY FIRST ART BALL EVER HELD IN MALAYSIA WAS A MASSIVE SUCCESS THANKS TO MIKI CHOONG AND HER TEAM.

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

PHOTOS BY CANON POWERSHOT 720 HS
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ARTESPREE CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY WITH AVANT-GARDE SHOWCASE OF ART IN DIFFERENT FORMS

 ME-KEE CHOONG OOPS I MEAN MI-KEE CHOONG OH IT'S MI-KI CHOONG GIVING WELCOME SPEECH

ALL HAIL TO ARTESPREE!

LEGEND 

ArteSpree, founded by Mi-Ki Choong of Centurise Group and the Global Ambassador representing Malaysia in Women Entrepreneurship Day (WED) in United Nations (UN), celebrates its First Anniversary in spectacular fashion with the ArteSpree Inaugural Art Ball that took place at Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur on 4^th November 2018.

With the theme ‘Avant-Garde – Past, Present & Future’, the event was a grand showcase that celebrates the diversity of art, bringing together the best of culinary, performing, fashion and fine art.

The evening began with an International Art Exhibition featuring 20 pieces from artists, gallerists and collectors from 7 countries, before leading guests into the Grand Ballroom for an exceptional dinner curated by the Head Chef at Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur.

In keeping with the theme, the night saw performances that represented avant-garde of the past, present and future. Transporting guests back in time, soprano singer Azfareffa performed two opera ballads composed by Mozart and Vivaldi, personifying the rich history and beauty of the art tracing back to the sixteenth century.

Following suit was a modern contemporary dance performed against stunning visuals that bring to life an ArteSpree interpretation of contemporary art in the present.

The highlight of the night was a one-night-only fashion show presented by Carven Ong, Malaysia’s very own Hollywood designer extraordinaire, in collaboration with ArteSpree. Having recently carved a name for himself in Hollywood following the success of the Crazy Rich Asians movie, Ong brought the future of fashion to the runway, showcasing 10 unique avant-garde pieces inspired by the theme of the ball.

Also taking place that night was the ArteSpree Art Awards 2018, awarding all the deserving ArteSpree artists who were outstanding in their performance and have contributed to the art industry in the past year via the online art platform.

As the night came to a close, the winners of the Best Dressed of the night were announced, with each winner taking home an exclusive piece of jewellery from award-winning jeweller Paolo Costagli New York.

Present for the night were some of ArteSpree’s royal guests of honour, including Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamallulail, Raja Muda Perlis; Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil, Raja Puan Muda Perlis; and Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Puteri Datuk Seri Hajjah Zahariah binti Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj.

Also showing continuous support for ArteSpree was the European Union Ambassador to Malaysia, Her Excellency Maria Castillo Fernandez. 

The Director General of National Art Gallery Malaysia (NAGM), YB Prof. Dato’ Dr Mohamed Najib bin Ahmad Dawa, was in attendance as well, having supported ArteSpree’s initiatives in catapulting the art industry forward since its conception.

The ArteSpree Inaugural Art Ball 2018 applauds and recognises the contributions of artists, organisations and everyone within the art community who have continuously supported ArteSpree over the past year in its efforts to democratize art and make it accessible to everyone.

The theme, ‘Avant-Garde – Past, Present and Future’, represents ArteSpree’s intentions of encouraging businesses and art communities to come forward and form new art ventures which may evolve into meaningful businesses over the long run.

“Our mission with ArteSpree is not just to provide an accessible, interactive online art platform for artists, gallerists and collectors, but also to create awareness about the art industry and the many opportunities it offers, including sustainable business ventures. With greater awareness comes greater interest, and a chance for the art community to thrive.

Art is already a part of our everyday life as demonstrated by the artists, chef, performers and Hollywood designer from tonight, and we at ArteSpree want to help bring it to greater heights,” commented Mi-Ki Choong, founder of ArteSpree.

Over the past year, ArteSpree has revolutionized the art industry, offering a seamless integration of payment, insurance and logistics for online art trade, being the only online art platform within the region that is able to provide end-to-end sales and marketing services within the art community.

On top of that, ArteSpree has involved itself in the marketing of its artists through independent programs such as the ArteSpree Artists Caption Contest, ArteSpree Artists and Celebrities Campaign, and the ArteSpree and NAGM Artists Recognition & Talent Search, just to name a few.

ArteSpree continues to actively reach out to a variety of businesses, technologists and art players who have come forward to propose a myriad of interesting solutions that would advance the art industry as a whole. Apart from its unique position to reach out to the broader art community, ArteSpree is also able to function as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) platform for organisations looking for avenues to play a part in elevating the awareness, understanding and appreciation for art.

“We are looking forward to expand our partnerships with existing partners, as well as continue to form new strategic partnerships in order to take CSR-Commercial partnerships to a new level, for the betterment of the Art industry as a whole,” added Choong.

The ArteSpree Inaugural Art Ball 2018 was made possible thanks to the support from the National Art Gallery Malaysia, New York Modern Art Gallery, MATRADE, as well as sponsors such as Centurise Group, Carven Ong Couture, Paolo Costagli New York, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, A&L Adventure and Leisure, and Equal Strategy Singapore.

For more information on ArteSpree, visit the website at:

www.artespree.com

About ArteSpree

ArteSpree, an online art platform from Malaysia, focuses on bringing together the art community. While its operations will focus mainly in its homeland Malaysia, ArteSpree welcomes the participation of art lovers, artists, gallerists and collectors from around the world.

Its mantra is to democratize art through building access and awareness to greater audiences, starting from Malaysia and then to the world. Art in all forms have a story to tell and ArteSpree hopes to tell it and share it with the world.

MIKI CHOONG'S WELCOME AND THANK YOU SPEECH

FIRST SPORANO SINGER 

IL DIVO OR AT LEAST THE MALAYSIAN VERSION AS THEY SO TALENTED AND HANDSOME LIKE IL DIVO

DANCE SHOW TO SCREEN SHOTS 

VERY KERWEI 

TA-DA! 

AWARDS AND TOKENS OF APPRECIATION TO SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

PHILIP WONG VERY DE TALENTED ARTIST OK!

THIS SAYS IT ALL, NO NEED REPEAT, JUST SCROLL THE PHOTOS

YOUNGER THAN ME EVEN

REMEMBER MY NAME, IT'S FAME!