UOB Vietnam launches the 4th UOB Painting of the Year competition to nurture and showcase Vietnamese artistic talent
Submissions for the 4th UOB Painting of the Year competition in Vietnam are open from now till 31 July 2026
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 8 May 2026 – UOB Vietnam today announced the launch of the 4th UOB Painting of the Year (UOB POY) competition in Vietnam, inviting both established and emerging Vietnamese artists to express their creativity, artistic vision and ideas through visual art.
Established in Singapore in 1982 and subsequently expanded across ASEAN, the UOB POY is UOB’s flagship regional art competition and one of Southeast Asia’s most recognised art competitions. The annual competition is held concurrently in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, with a shared objective to discover, nurture and elevate artistic talent across the region.
First launched in Vietnam in 2023, the 2026 edition marks the fourth consecutive year of the competition in the country. Over the past three years, UOB POY Vietnam has attracted strong nationwide participation and has become a recognised platform for supporting artistic development and connecting Vietnamese artists to wider regional and international opportunities.
Ms Pham Tieu Giang, Head of Strategic Communications and Brand, UOB Vietnam, said: “With more than three decades of deep roots in Vietnam, UOB is committed to creating long term value for the community beyond banking. We believe that art and culture play a vital role in fostering creativity, dialogue and social connection. As a leading patron of the arts in Asia, UOB continues to make art more accessible through initiatives such as the UOB POY Awards Ceremony and Exhibition. Now in its fourth year in Vietnam, the competition reflects our sustained commitment to nurturing the local artistic community and connecting Vietnamese artists to regional and international opportunities. We look forward to seeing inspiring submissions in this year’s edition.”
Empowering artists through regional and international opportunities
Beyond recognising artistic excellence, the UOB POY extends its impact by providing artists with structured and progressive pathways for regional and international exposure as they advance in their careers.
Central to this approach is the UOB Artist Alumni Network, which enables UOB POY recipients to access curated opportunities across UOB supported regional art platforms. These include participation in major international art fairs such as Art Central in Hong Kong where UOB is a lead partner, alongside commissioned projects, overseas artist residency programmes and professional engagements within UOB’s regional art ecosystem.
This framework has enabled Vietnamese UOB POY alumni to gain sustained visibility on regional platforms. In 2025, works by Ngo Van Sac and Nguyen Van He, recipients in the Established Artist Category of UOB POY Vietnam 2024, were presented at Art Central Hong Kong. In the same year, works by Le Viet Trung and Phan Tu Tran, recipients in the Established and Emerging Artist Categories of UOB POY Vietnam 2024 respectively, represented Vietnam at Art Jakarta 2025.
Beyond exhibitions, UOB also supports practice based learning and cross border exchange through academic and institutional partnerships. Trinh Minh Tien, UOB POY Vietnam 2023 winner participated in a workshop programme at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore in 2025 where he guided students in hands-on artistic practice centered on Vietnam’s Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature), a historic cultural landmark. Building on this momentum, Nguyen Anh Vu, Silver Award recipient in the Emerging Artist Category (UOB POY Vietnam 2023), will take part in the UOB-NAFA Artist-in-Residence Programme at Cité Internationale des arts in Paris in 2026, engaging with the international art community through open studios and professional exchanges.
Together, these initiatives expand the international presence of Vietnamese artists while bringing Vietnamese art to wider audiences and fostering deeper engagement within the regional art community.
Calling for submissions for the 4th UOB POY competition in Vietnam
UOB Vietnam invites both emerging and established artists across the country to participate in the fourth edition of its flagship art competition and to push the boundaries of their creative practice.
Submissions for the 4th UOB POY competition in Vietnam are open from now until 31 July 2026. All Vietnamese citizens and permanent residents aged 16 and above (as at 31 July 2026) are eligible to submit one original artwork online under either the Established or Emerging Artist Category at UOBandArt.com.
From this year, UOB is introducing revised eligibility criteria for the Established Artist Category, to better recognise artists with demonstrated practice and engagement within the art ecosystem. The revised prerequisites will raise the benchmark for established artists to be assessed alongside peers of similar experience, enabling the competition to celebrate artistic growth and commitment. Artists who plan to submit their artworks under the Established Artist Category will need to fulfil a minimum of three prerequisites below:
- Currently or have been represented by commercial art galleries.
- Sold artworks.
- Participated in a group or solo exhibition.
- Received a grant or commission to create artworks for commercial entities, institutions or any organisation.
- Is a recipient of art-related awards, locally or outside of Vietnam.
The judging panel for the 2026 competition comprises established art practitioners and experts with strong international experience:
- Mr Trong Gia Nguyen - Leading Artist and Curator, Chief Judge, who will represent Vietnam at the regional judging in Singapore
- Dr Bridget Tracy Tan - Senior Director, Art Galleries and Institute of Southeast Asian Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore; Judge
- Mr Tran Van Thao - Leading Artist, Judge
The winners of the 4th UOB POY in Vietnam will be announced at an awards ceremony in September 2026. The Vietnam UOB POY winner will receive VND 500 million in prize money and will compete against national winners from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for the regional UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year award.
The regional winner will receive an additional S$13,000 cash prize and the opportunity to participate in an overseas artist residency programme. The 2026 UOB Southeast Asian POY winner will be announced at a regional awards ceremony in Singapore in October 2026.
For more information on the UOB POY competition, please visit UOBandArt.com.
UOB’s involvement in art started in the 1970s with its collection of paintings by Singapore artists. Today, the UOB Art Collection has more than 2,800 artworks, made up primarily of paintings from established and emerging Southeast Asian artists.
UOB plays an active role in communities across the region, most notably through its long-term commitment to art. As the leading patron of the arts in Asia, the Bank continues to make art accessible to a wider audience through a diverse range of visual art programmes, partnerships and community outreach across the region.
The Bank’s flagship art programme is the UOB Painting of the Year competition, which was started in 1982 to recognise Southeast Asian artists and to offer them the opportunity to showcase their works to the wider community. The competition was extended to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and in 2023, to Vietnam. It is now the longest running art competition in Singapore and one of the most prestigious in Southeast Asia.
Over the past 42 years, the competition has cultivated and advanced the careers of many artists in Singapore. Notable among them are Mr. Goh Beng Kwan (1982 winner), and the late Mr. Anthony Poon (1983 winner) and Mr. Chua Ek Kay (1991 winner), who received the Singapore Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s most distinguished art award.
The competition has also recognised talents from across the region through the UOB Southeast Asian POY award. Previous winners include Mr. Yong Wee Loon from Singapore in 2024, Ms. Pratchaya Charernsook from Thailand in 2023, Chomrawi Suksom from Thailand in 2022, Mr. Saiful Razman from Malaysia in 2021, Mr. Prabu Perdana from Indonesia in 2020, Mr. Anagard from Indonesia in 2019, Mr. Suvi Wahyudianto from Indonesia in 2018.
Together with the UOB POY winning artists, UOB also runs art workshops for underprivileged and special needs children regularly. At these workshops, the young learn art techniques from art professionals and award-winning artists.
In recognition of the Bank’s long-term commitment to art, UOB was presented with the Singapore National Arts Council’s Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award for the 23rd time in 2025.
UOB Vietnam commenced operations officially on 2 July 2018. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UOB, a leading bank in Asia with a global network of around 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
UOB has been in Vietnam for 30 years, started from a representative office in 1993 and became the first Singapore bank to launch a branch in the country in 1995. Today, UOB Vietnam offers a range of personal and institutional financial services to both Vietnamese and overseas customers across the country backed by the seamless connectivity offered through UOB’s regional network. In 2019, UOB Vietnam expanded into northern Vietnam with a branch in Hanoi. With the completion of the acquisition of Citibank Vietnam’s consumer banking business early 2023, UOB now has a total five branches in Ho Chi Minh city and Hanoi.
For nearly nine decades, UOB has adopted a customer-centric approach to create long-term value by staying relevant through its enterprising spirit and doing right by its customers. UOB is focused on building the future of ASEAN – for the people and businesses within, and connecting with, ASEAN.
The Bank connects businesses to opportunities in the region with its unparalleled regional footprint and leverages data and insights to innovate and create personalised banking experiences and solutions catering to each customer’s unique needs and evolving preferences. UOB is also committed to help businesses forge a sustainable future, by fostering social inclusiveness, creating positive environmental impact and pursuing economic progress. UOB believes in being a responsible financial services provider and is steadfast in its support of art, social development of children and education, doing right by its communities and stakeholders.
