The implementation of national cultural elements in artworks of Young Contemporary Award from 1974 to 2019

Young Contemporary Award (YCA) or known as Bakat Muda Sezaman (BMS) have been held by National Art Gallery (NAG) to look for new talent to fill the void in the Malaysia visual art scene. For the past 40 years, it has been more than 20 editions of YCA being held since 1974 until 2019 recently. Such platform has produced numerous prolific and renowned local artists with fine artworks and has been seen as a reflection for the country visual arts in future. However, the idea transformation of the Malay culture and traditions in visual art has been neglected through the development of Contemporary Art in Malaysia. The tendency of new-generation artists towards western and universal styles had further contributed to the abandonment and less emphasis of the cultural symbols. They have adulterated by their own cultural heritage with all the modern art trends. Thus, the objective of this research is to analyse the implementation of the national cultural elements in 25 artworks (winner) of Young Contemporary Award from 1974 to 2019. The research undergoes observations and gathering from books, journals, past research papers, and catalogues from NAG. Besides, an interview also conducted involving academician and artists that related for data collected. The research is based on qualitative method and implied the thematic analysis from the three pillars of National Cultural Congress 1971 which are the culture of indigenous people of the region, other appropriate cultural elements and Islam as an important element. This research is important to increase the awareness and giving wider exposure directly or indirectly towards society and art enthusiasts on our multi-diverse culture regarding the Malaysia’s national cultural policy. It also can be used as documentation and references to develop on more added value and content of the national cultural elements in our future’s visual art field.