Sabah Cultural Icon’s home to be turned into gallery

KOTA KINABALU: With the registration of the Tina Rimmer Trust underway, the Sabah Cultural Icon’s former home in Likas is set to be converted into a gallery for public viewing.

Spending most of her life in Sabah after first arriving from England as an education officer in 1949, Tina contributed to the local community not only through her art, but also with her volunteer work.

Sabah Art Gallery (SAG) curator Jennifer Linggi said the home gallery was intended to give the public more insight into Tina as a person.

“Tina’s influence in Sabah goes beyond art. She was a teacher, she came as an education officer and she was also known for her community work. To me, it shows her commitment to the community in more ways than just art.”

Jennifer said the home-turnedgallery would not only showcase Tina’s art, but also how she lived.

“What I really want is for people to know the kind of person she was. When homes are turned into galleries, it’s usually very grand, but her house is very simple -- she didn’t even have curtains in her bedroom.

“We probably have to restore certain parts of the house to make it more presentable, but we mustn’t change it too much because we want to keep it the way she had it.

“She had a lot of art books and sketch books there, which will be on display once the gallery is up and running,” she said.

The Tina Rimmer Trust is currently awaiting approval from Jabatan Amanah Raya Sabah, said Jennifer, adding that the Trust would then hand over matters of running and managing the gallery to SAG or the museum, or both.

“Once the Trust is formed, SAG can officially manage the gallery. But we need City Hall’s permission as well to oversee the gallery, because it’s in a residential area.

“Tina gave her house to the SAG, but we are giving it to the government to use as a gallery. I think it’s right that it’s used as a gallery,” said Jennifer.