08Apr

Using art to boost KK’s reputation

Kota Kinabalu: Art promotions will be one of the initiatives taken by the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry to uplift the reputation of the City, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew. She said as the Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, it is her ministry’s responsibility to portray a good image of Kota Kinabalu and push its branding further.“We need to compete with other destinations and rise to international standards,” she said during the launching of the Lampoopalooza, at the compound of Sabah Tourism Board (STB) building, here, Friday. “In my recent overseas trips, I have seen expressions of art by the communities and the respective city councils fully embracing them. “This must be one of the directions that we aim for a vibrant Kota Kinabalu.”Her Ministry, she said, placed great emphasis on developing and promoting traditional as well as modern arts. “Art murals are put up by the City Hall and just last weekend, the Pillars of Sabah 2.0 nearby was launched by my Ministry’s Permanent Secretary on my behalf.  Do continue all of these initiatives,” she said. On Lampoopalooza, she said, it was nothing short of innovative in terms of events in Sabah. “This shows the many possibilities for new tourism events and it also proves that our destination continues to reinvent herself and set the bar higher each time.“I am pleased to see that we are marketing Gaya Street like many famous streets around the world. “This is our very own version of high street with a history going back to more than 100 years. “Tonight (Friday), we mark the anniversary of the STB building by appreciating the heritage, history and the perspectives of turning this street into a modern event site.” She added the bold move will certainly raise Kota Kinabalu’s prominence to be the most vibrant city in Borneo.  Lampoopalooza was a light art installation organised to mark the anniversary of the STB building. The installation followed Kota Kinabalu’s first-ever light show produced by STB last year, during the commemoration of the building’s centennial anniversary. The event featured a production of a special video, showcasing some of the State’s iconic wildlife and cultural elements, projected on the entire building and an artistic display of lights surrounding areas to position the historical street as the City’s signature stretch. The STB building was first occupied in 1918 and officiated by the Governor of the British North Borneo Chartered Company. Later, it was renovated to house the Treasury, Audit Office, a bank and the Post Office until 1986. The State Government officially gazetted it as a historical building in 1988. The building underwent restoration before reopening it in 1991, to house the Sabah Tourism Promotion Corporation, now the STB office. Source: Daily Express
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19Sep

Some 97 artists involved in the 5th Installation Art by the Bay

By PAUL MU KOTA KINABALU: Three art events were held concurrently in Kota Kinabalu last weekend to mark the Malaysia Day celebration hosted by Sabah. There were the Installation of Art by the Bay, Pillars of Sabah and Lighting Show at Oceanus. Before that, there were the murals all over the city and an art trail, all geared towards making Kota Kinabalu an art scene city. “We hope everybody will come forward to support us because art is the pinnacle of civilisation and we want the city like that as well,” said Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy Dr Awangku Hassanal Bahar Pengiran. The event was launched by Federal Tourism, Art and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi. He was speaking during the launch of the 5th Installation Art by the Bay at the boardwalk of Segama Waterfront last week. The installation themed, Eco Art Inspires in Celebration of Malaysia Day on Sept 15-18, is aimed to develop eco art tourism in Sabah. They also target to make the installation art to be commissioned and incorporated into the Kota Kinabalu City Beautification Plan. “After five years, we have grown a little and changed the public perception that art is not all about paintings or making sculptures but it can be an installation that is organic or tangible, or neither of both,” he said. “We got a lot of support from both the local and international artists who love art and wanted to see this event grow. I think we have kind of achieved our objectives after five years and there is always room for improvement as well. “The growth have been encouraging as we also have artists from Papar, Pitas, Tuaran, Petagas, Kota Belud and Sandakan, coming here for the long holidays to do something to educate and exchange ideas on the arts they created,” Dr Awangku said. Since last year the event has become international with participation from Brunei and Finland and this year, Singapore came into the frame, he said. He encouraged local artists to interact with overseas participants to get more ideas and inspirations. There are 17 different installations on the boardwalk. There are 14 teams from Sabah and one each from Penang, Brunei and Finland. About 97 artists together with family and friends were involved. The core organising committee consisted of UMS, Sabah Tourist Association, Lavinia Private Art Gallery, Kota Kinabalu City Hall and Sabah Art Gallery.   Source: New Sabah Times
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01Mar

Arts and culture reflect civilisation, values of local community

PAPAR: Celebrating the art and culture of every ethnic group in the state is imperative in inculcating unity and camaraderie among the multiracial community. Chief Minister, Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman said that art and culture hold a special place in very community in spite of the changing time. He said that the culture of an ethnic group reflects various aspects of its civilisation and the values held by the community. “Therefore, I welcome the Persatuan Masyarakat Brunei Sabah’s (PMBS) efforts in organising this Pesta Gambus (a stringed musical instrument). This is in line with the government’s aspiration in instilling unity and harmony among the various races in Sabah,” he said when officiating the 18th Pesta Gambus here yesterday. According to him, Pesta Gambus provides an opportunity for the people to get to know better the culture of the people of Brunei descent. He said that the state and federal governments will continue to provide assistance to art practitioners in the state. “I would like to urge PMBS and other ethnic associations in Sabah to utilise all facilities and assistance provided by the government to preserve and develop their respective cultures,” he said. Also present were Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Arifin Arif who is also PMBS president; Deputy Works Minister, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin; Infrastructure Development Assistant Minister, Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar; and Bongawan Assemblyman, Datuk Mohamad Alamin. Source: New Sabah Times
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31Jan

Kota Marudu sculptor expresses “hope” through art

Art is inherently beautiful. And art made by local artist contains invaluable intimations and perceptions of occasions, circumstances, and societies, writes Vesta Vanessa Jsol. Visitors who visit the on-going ‘The 300 Exhibition – Chapter II’ at Sabah Art Gallery will definitely be amazed by hundreds of wonderful artwork, especially those ten tiny boat sculptures made from iron. Neatly arranged around the exhibition hall on the first floor, the dark-silvered coloured sculptures seem like they are telling something – an untold story. Curious to know what is behind those ‘boats,’ this New Sabah Times reporter decided to find and interview its sculptor, Rayner Goluhing. “Hope,” the 29-year-old artist answered when asked about the theme of his creation. Rayner who hails from Kota Marudu, said that those boats represent hope in people’s daily life. “Every single day, each one of us might face different difficulties in our life. As an artist, I see that we (people) are swimming in the vast ocean, tired against the waves, longing for shelter and that boat will be our last hope to survive. “I purposely create it in ten units with different sizes and shapes, symbolizing people’s hopes huge or small, strong or fragile.” He took about a month to finish the ‘boats’ series. “It’s not that hard to produce, but it does take time to finish.” Currently, he is working with Sabah Handicraft Centre (Keningau). His love of iron sculpture started since his childhood but only took it seriously in 2009 after he received an offer to further his studies in Bachelor of Creative Arts at a local university. “These few years of my life were surrounded by pieces of iron, sprockets, barbed wire and fences that I turned into art. Some of the artworks were used as decorations in office lobbies, some hung here at the art exhibition hall and some ended up as house decorations. “Sculpting is fun, especially with pieces which have been tossed out and deemed no longer of value. I found beauty in discarded pieces of metal. “I thanked God for giving me a wife who loves art too,” he quipped. Rayner and his two colleagues, Roslan Yusof, 42, and Alfred Paladius, 30, represented Sabah Handicraft Centre (Keningau) to exhibit their creations. Roslan showcased batik painting themed ‘Sabah Nature’, while Alfred presented a series of drawings entitled ‘Valley.’ However, their artworks are just parts of the exhibition. There are more attractions that can be found by visiting the hall in person. In the exhibition opening ceremony held recently, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said that locals need to support home-grown artists in order to ensure the continuity of the local art scene. He said that the lack of support for local artists may hinder their motivation to create fine masterpieces. “If we do not support our local talents, they will feel demotivated and our local art scene may face the risk of dying out. Give them encouragement so they can do better in the future and continue making art.” Masidi added that locals should not only attend art exhibitions, but purchase the works of local artists as they are valuable in the long run. “Many works produced by our local artists are of high quality. It is never a loss to invest in high quality artworks because its value only increases with time.” He also reminded artists not to be easily demotivated by the lack of support, as it is all part of their journey in the field. “We have a lot of talented artists, but we always underestimate their talents. We are more willing to spend thousands on foreign artworks when the quality of those artists may not be on par with our local talents. “I urge local artists to always keep your heads high whenever people doubted you for they are road bumps that you have to face in reaching your full potential.” Following the success of its first installation in 2015, The 300 Exhibition – Chapter II features 300 artworks of 30 local artists from around Sabah. Themed ‘Bawah Bayu,’ featured artworks will be exhibited for three months at the gallery. Sabah Art Gallery curator Jennifer Linggi said the theme was intended to promote Sabahan culture and heritage, which would inadvertently boost tourism in the state. She also expressed hope that the exhibition will encourage more local artists to take part in Sabah’s art programmes to increase credibility in management and implementation. “This programme also mirrors the determination of local artists in organising academic art-related events,” she added. Artworks featured at The 300 Exhibition – Chapter II are for sale at RM300 a piece.   Source: New Sabah Times
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09Nov

Beautiful Sabah 3.0 contest attracts int’l participants

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board’s Beautiful Sabah 3.0 online photography and video contest, ended on October 8 and attracted participation from eleven countries through social media. The countries were Australia, China, France, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Philippines, UK and Malaysia. This is the third edition of the contest and has the most submissions from overseas. A total of 800 photographs and 15 videos were submitted during the two-month online contest. “The participation from most (of the) international countries is through the power of social media. Through social media, every post shared can lead to a site visit and eventually a conversion,” said Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, chairman of Sabah Tourism Board at the prize presentation ceremony, yesterday. Winners of the competition were presented with their prizes yesterday at Sabah Tourism Board by Joniston, who urged the participants to use their talents and skills to keep promoting Sabah through their lenses and video making skills. Also present at the event were general manager of Sabah Tourism Board Gordon Yapp, deputy general manager (support services) Noredah Othman and communications manager Hana S. Harun The top five winners of the photography competition were Tsen Lip Kai, Rustam Razali, Clement Liew, Tirado Jupirin and Mohd Erwin Mohd Ussdek, and the top five winners of the video competition were Sharif Putra Sharif Ubong, Leon Kuan, Danny Daniel Nguai, Sharif Putra Sharif Ubong and Ivan Ong Jian Hau. The Beautiful Sabah 3.0 sponsorship, worth about RM15,000 were from the private sector, namely the Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort,  Sutera Harbour Resort, Promenade Hotel Kota Kinabalu, Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, Grandis Hotel and Resorts, Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan, Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai, Techfix, Canon Marketing (Malaysia), Syarikat Percetakan Suria, Toppoint Company Sdn Bhd, Ebiz Design & Communications, and Videographics Productions Sdn Bhd.   Source: Borneo Post
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