Nine-year-old, K. Kanniesh Theeran made Malaysia proud by coming out tops in the 2020 State-Fish Art Contest under the international category. Inspired by a 5th grader’s homework back in 1997, this global contest which has been around for the past 20 years aims to educate kids, teachers and parents on aquatic resources, conservation and fish.
Theeran and his winning entry, a Chinese Pangasius Catfish painting. Source: The Star/wildlifeforever.org
Beating over 5000 entries from 47 states in America and 32 countries, Theeran’s Chinese Pangasius Catfish painting was awarded a certificate, letter of achievement and a trophy from Wildlife Forever, an American non-profit conservation charity.
Theeran’s mother, Kangathevi Ponnudorai said the Year Three student of SJK(T) Rawang was always interested in arts.
Speaking about Theeran’s preparation for the contest, she said, “He planned well, did his homework and completed it in two weeks”. Theeran’s winning piece also included an essay.
Shindavy’s drawing of her inspirational figure. Source: The Rakyat Post
Creativity sure runs in this family as Theeran’s younger sister, Kanniesh Shindavy, a Year Two pupil, had her artwork chosen out of 150 submissions for the Lucia Bocchino Fund for Promising Young Artists’ 2020 International Virtual Exhibition. Based on the theme “Who is a Woman In Your Life That Inspires You?”, Shindavy drew a picture of her mother that took her 3 weeks to complete.
That’s not all, apart from their creative streak, these two siblings have some major ambition goals, too! Theeran aspires to be a politician while his younger sister hopes to be a lawyer in the future.
Kudos to these young Malaysians!
*Feature image sourced from The Star
