Community art initiative returns with 30 new Sabah artists

Kota Kinabalu: The community art initiative that makes use of colonial building ruins in the city centre returns this year with 30 new Sabahan artists participating.

Currently in progress, all Pillars of Sabah 3.0 participants are from diverse backgrounds and have not been involved in the first and second edition of the collective street art project.

The plan was to unveil the completed works – paintings on the pillars of the ruins – this Sunday. 

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Co-founder and co-organiser of Pillars of Sabah, Jared Abdul Rahman, who is also the curator and chief coordinator for Pillars of Sabah 3.0, said they were hoping the event could bring the community back together as everyone has faced difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It has been the most difficult year for most people, where lockdowns leading to isolation created a disconnect with the community.

“With our theme focusing on unity, each of the artists was given a keyword such as openness and courage to work on – values that we as individuals and the community should strive toward.

“Like the previous events – last year it was during Earth Hour (March 30) and in 2018 during Malaysia Day (Sept 16) – we wanted to mark it on a significant date and it just so happens Dec 20 is International Human Solidarity Day,” he told The Star.

This year, the project expands its horizon with the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) as its strategic partner.

Cendana is a government initiative and advocacy for the arts to improve the cultural sector and creative economy, by channelling aid where it is needed.

Another key partner in the project is the Sabah Human Development and Empowerment Association).

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Like previous years, the project is sponsored by paint company Nippon Paint (Sabah) with the support of the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry as well as Kota Kinabalu City Hall, said Jared.

He added that the artists started painting last week and they were allowed to paint at any time convenient to them despite the pandemic.

“Some have work obligations so they can come even after midnight if they want to,” he said, adding they also adhered to the physical distancing rules, ensuring that only a limited number of artists (maximum seven at one time) were on location at the same time.

Jared said a lot of participants this time came from different fields of arts, for example, a poet, a woodcarver and a spray paint artist, and others who dabbled with art painting for the first time.

“When it comes to a community project, personally I do not think you have to be a professional artist in order to produce art.

“We make sure we have a diverse mix of artists; hobbyists versus professionals, including non-traditional or unconventional artists,” he explained.

One of the participating artists, hotelier Nate Kumar, actually returned to his hobby of painting during the MCO earlier in March this year as he found it “healing”.

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Expressing his excitement at being part of the third edition, he said he was also nervous because he never painted a mural before.

“My theme is compassion ... My challenges are more on capturing the idea and how to realise it.

“People might find that the third edition of Pillars of Sabah is raw. You can see the artist’s flaws but there is a beauty in it – it is real and it is the reflection of the artists.

“I guess in a way, Pillars of Sabah can be an avenue for newbies like me to improve my skills and learn from other professional artists who are also part of the project,” the 41-year-old said. – The Star