Gallery, ministry urged to apologise over artwork removal
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Art Gallery and Sabah Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS) have been urged to apologise for the removal of Pillars of Sabah (POS) artworks.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) supreme council member cum lawyer Yong Yit Jee said it was disheartening that Sabah Art Gallery is evasive and seemingly refuses to apologise for its gross handling of the removal.
He said the person-in-charge of POS 3.0, Jared Abdul Rahman had explained that the Pillars of Sabah 3.0 artworks were removed without prior notice to the organisers and the 31 artists involved.
The artworks were removed apparently to make way for the upcoming art installation project, Wonders of Wilderness (WOW) project.
He also said that KePKAS had confirmed with him that they were never informed of the removal. The upcoming WOW project is still a proposal only and has not yet been approved.
“I am disheartened to find that
Sabah Art Gallery is evasive and seemingly refuses to apologise formally for its gross handling of the incident despite Dr Jamili Nais, the permanent secretary of KePKAS, has already said it’s wrong to remove the artwork and it’s better to admit one’s mistake when a wrong decision is made,” he said in a statement.
He said that all of the effort and hard work of the 31 local artists, the organisers of POS 3.0 and Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA) had vanished without explanation and it is heart breaking and damaging to Sabah’s art and culture and defeats the very theme of POS 3.0, Community.
“I urge Sabah Art Gallery and all relevant authorities involved to respect, be courteous and at least issue a sincere formal apology and explanation for hurting and disrespecting our local art community and talents and POS 3.0 organisers. After all, KePKAS, Cendana, Sabah Art Gallery, POS, and all artists and art community should join hands in promoting Sabah’s art and culture,” he added.