The Beverly Arts
- Oct 28, 2022
- 4 min read

2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival Official Launch and Voting Conference

Updated: Oct 29, 2022

Todd Williamson, Executive Director of the LABA International Art Festival, points to the upcoming 2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival

Beverly Hills, California, USA. 27th October, 2022. The 2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival and voting conference was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The voting conference was held to select a new rotating chairman for this year's LABA International Art Festival (two candidates) and a LABA Lifetime Honorary Chairman (one candidate). The voting members were the LABA International Arts Festival's Board of Directors and Organizing Committee.

Karen Han, Paul Ottosson, Todd Williamson, Princess Karen Cantrell, Joey Zhou, and Harrison Engle

The LABA Voting Conference was presided over by Todd Williamson, Executive Director of the LABA International Arts Festival. The meeting was attended by key representatives of the LABA International Art Festival Board of Directors and Organizing Committee, including LABA's Founding Chairman Joey Zhou, 2021-2022 LABA International Arts Festival Rotating Chairman, Princess Karen Cantrell, Executive Director of the LABA International Arts Festival, Todd Williamson, and Directors of the LABA International Arts Festival - Harrison Engle, Paul Ottosson, and Karen Han.

Todd Willamson, Executive Director of the LABA International Art Festival

Before the vote, Todd Williamson introduced the candidates and provided the voting instructions to the members. There were two votes, one for Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the LABA International Art Festival, and the other was for the new Rotating Chairman of 2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival:

Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the LABA International Art Festival (one candidate):

Princess Karen Cantrell - an entrepreneur, activist, visionary, philanthropist and humanitarian with a background of aristocratic and British royal blood. Her Excellency Princess Karen Cantrell or Ratu Muda Karen Cantrell is the name she is entitled to for her honors from the Ethiopian Royal Family and the Indonesian Kupang Royal Family. She is the President and CEO of Rancho Mirage Golf Inc./Lady Golf and the Rotating Chair of the 2021-2022 LABA International Arts Festival. Karen is also very active in charitable and social causes in the United States, Africa and Indonesia, including children's rights, animal welfare and education.

Rotating Chairman for the 2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival (two candidates):

1) Jiannan Huang - one of the best artists in the world specializing in Western oil painting and Chinese ink painting, and has developed his own style of "quantum art" in recent years. He is the first blue-chip artist established by the LABA International Art Festival, and won the first place in the world in the LABA-MIMV Most Influential and Valuable Artist Award on September 29, 2022. He ranks third in the 2020 Hurun China Art List and 19th in the Hurun Global Artist List with sales of US$29 million. Mr. Huang has held several positions - Director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Promotion Association, Member of the French National Artists Committee, Art Consultant of the World Low Carbon City Alliance, and Gold Medal Honorary Citizen of the French City of Jiny. He was awarded the title of "Earl" by the Indonesian Royal Family. In 2021, he was awarded an Honorary Member of the California Chapter of the Royal Society of St. George, and in 2022, he was awarded the Royal Society of St. George "Master of Arts Award."

LABA Blue-chip Artist Jiannan Huang

2) Rémy Aron - a French artist and former president of the French Society of Fine Arts, who graduated from the Paris Academy of Fine Arts in 1972. He is a member of the Salon d'Automne, where he has exhibited regularly since 1981. Aron is also a professor of painting and engraving at the Fine Arts Studio in the city of Paris and past president of the French Society of Plastic Arts. He is secretary of the Federation of Historical Salons of the Grand Palais and president of the House of Artists. He is a knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the French Artist and the Fernand Caumont Grand Prix of the Taylor Foundation. On September 29, 2022, he won the second place in the world in the selection of the LABA Most Influential and Valuable (MIMV) Artist of the 2021-2022 LABA International Art Festival.

French artist Rémy Aron

After the voting, the ballots were counted and Princess Karen Cantrell was successfully elected as the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the LABA International Art Festival, and Jiannan Huang was elected as the new Rotating Chairman for the 2022-2023 LABA International Art Festival. Due to travel restrictions, Jiannan Huang is unable to travel and attend LABA events in person, so it was agreed that Princess Karen Cantrell would serve as needed on his behalf.

LABA International Art Festival Board members mark their ballots at the voting conference

Joey Zhou, Rob Miller, and Todd Williamson review the counts of the ballots

Princess Karen Cantrell, the newly elected Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the LABA International Arts Festival announced that the 2022-2023 LABA International Arts Festival and Most Influential and Most Valuable Artist (MIMV) was officially launched. She stated in her inaugural speech that she is very grateful to everyone who has elected her as the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the LABA International Arts Festival and she looks forward to continue working with the LABA International Art Festival in the coming year. She read a thank you email from Rémy Aron thanking the LABA International Art Festival Board of Directors for their work and honoring him with an award at the 2021-2022 LABA International Art Festival.