On Saturday, January 18th, at Singapore’s Suntec City convention center, the inaugural Prudential Eye Awards (PEA) for emerging Asian artists went to Ben Quilty of Sydney, Australia. Comprising of five categories—digital/video, installation, painting, photography, sculpture—the award recognized Quilty as the overall winner as well as the category winner for painting.  Judging the PEA was a panel of seven art and cultural professionals including Nick Mitzevich from the Art Gallery of Southern Australia, Nigel Hurst from the Saatchi Gallery, Serenella Ciclitira of Parallel Contemporary Art, and Tan Boon Hui from Singapore’s National Heritage Board.

Following a successful run at the 55th Venice Biennale this past year, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (