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Hoan (second right) with the artists, guests and visitors in a photo-call, taken at the exhibition.
KOTA SAMARAHAN (March 7): Hoan Gallery, one of Sarawak’s leading contemporary art spaces, is exploring collaborations with overseas curators, and at the same time, planning a statewide art camp as part of efforts to support the region’s tourism sector.
Its director Hoan Kee Huang said the gallery recently received enquiries from Taiwanese art curators interested in exhibiting the artworks inspired by Sarawak’s tropical landscape.
“This is still at a very early stage.
“I hope to bring Sarawak’s flora and fauna to an exhibition in Taiwan – fingers crossed,” he said when met at the gallery’s 2026 season opener exhibition on Friday.
Hoan, a former bodybuilding athlete, also said that the overseas enquiry had helped shape the gallery’s direction for the year ahead, particularly in linking art with tourism promotion.
“Tourism is a great angle for me to focus on. This is also Visit Malaysia Year.
“For the middle of this year, together with several art societies, we are coordinating a statewide art camp.”
According to him, the proposed programme could see up to 20 artists travelling across Sarawak – from Miri to Kuching – to explore the state, and also to produce artworks inspired by its landscapes, culture and stories.
“There is genuine and growing interest in Sarawak arts.
“We have so much richness and beauty here,” added Hoan.
The gallery’s season opener, themed ‘Fragments: Perceptions of Sarawak’, features six artists: among them are Kedah-born Lee Choon Kooi, 76; Bornean sculptor M Shazy, 30; and oil painter Brandon Ritom, 36.
It displays over 70 pieces of paintings and sculptures.
The exhibition also showcases new works by Marvin Chew, 51, a Sarawakian watercolourist currently based in Singapore.
One of the highlights of the event was a live portrait-painting session featuring retired police officer DSP Peter Lim Chian Seng, who served during the Communist Insurgency in Sarawak from 1963 to 1990.
Lim, now 85, appeared visibly moved upon seeing the completed portraits.
His life story is also chronicled in the book ‘Crimson Tide Over Borneo, Lucky Lim – The Forgotten Hero’, regarded as one of the more emotionally compelling accounts of that era.
Hoan viewed stories such as Lim’s as ‘reflecting the depth of Sarawak’s history and identity’.
“To me, these are all great Sarawakian stories.
“Art can help unearth history, retell stories to reach more people, help preserve our nature and celebrate Sarawak.
“I think the rise of art in Sarawak is increasingly gaining the attention of the tourism industry.”
Admission to the ‘Fragments: Perceptions of Sarawak’ exhibition is free, and the artworjs are available for sale.
Also on sale at the exhibition are three books: ‘The Price Of A Bullet’ by Major (Rtd) Patrick Wong Sing Nang; ‘Silent Defenders’ by DSP (Rtd) Lim Choan Seng; and ‘80th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Sarawak’ compiled by Jennie Soh.
Hoan Gallery, supported by HSL, is located at La Promenade Mall here.
For more information, go to hoangallery.com or lapromenademall.com.my, or follow @HoanArtGallery on social media.
English (US) ·