The artworks removed from the Pillars of Sabah with white paint.
KOTA KINABALU: The misunderstandings over the removal of artworks from the Pillars of Sabah have been resolved, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin.
Jafry has called all parties including the ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Jamili Nais, Sabah Art Gallery director Jeniffer Linggi, co-founder of Pillars of Sabah 3.0, Jared Abdul Rahman, Professor Dr Ramzah Dambul, and several other artists to get to the bottom of the issue and resolve all differences regarding the removal of the third edition Pillars of Sabah.
He said the meeting successfully resolved misunderstandings that have occurred with amicable solutions.
During the meeting, Jennifer admitted Sabah Art Gallery’s weaknesses and apologised to all those affected especially the artists who had not been notified earlier before wiping out their artworks and replacing with the wordings “coming soon” and “WOW” project.
In response to the apology, Jafry said there is always room for improvement. The Sabah Art Gallery has learnt the lesson and should move forward for the upcoming WOW (Wonders of Wilderness) project.
Jafry also hopes that this incident does not break the spirit of local artists and they are always welcome to propose any ideas to the Sabah Art Gallery to ensure that art in Sabah continues to thrive.
The 31 artists who were involved in the Pillars of Sabah project were upset and hurt that their efforts and contribution to the arts was considered worthless by the Sabah Art Gallery.
The contact person of the Pillars of Sabah project, Jared Abdul Rahman, who is also one of the organisers of the POS project, told the Borneo Post recently that the Sabah Art Gallery had overlooked that although they own the site where the artworks were presented, the gallery does not own the artworks.
Jamili had said that it was wrong to wipe off the artworks without first informing the artists that were involved in the project and said “apologies are in order.”
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