KUCHING: The World Crafts Cities Network Forum in conjunction with the 10th Biennial World Eco-Fibre and Textile (WEFT) Forum, Exhibition and Fashion Show is the first event to be held in the new Sarawak Museum Campus.
“It is just a sort of ‘teaser’. After this, the new museum will be closed for decoration work, putting up the showcases and so on,” said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said this at the welcome dinner of the forum at the old State Legislative Assembly (DUN) complex in Petra Jaya here, on Friday (Nov 8).
During his speech, he remarked that Society Atelier Sarawak (SAS) has put the state’s local arts and crafts on the international cultural map.
He pointed out the society had curated exhibitions such as the ‘World Ikat Textiles — Ties that Bind’ which premiered in London at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) back in 2016.
“I understand that it will also be held in Uzbekistan in September next year,” he revealed.
Furthermore, Abdul Karim said that another of the society’s international exhibitions, the ‘Tree of Life’, had started in Kuala Lumpur and travelled to India, Honolulu (Hawaii, USA), Vancouver (Canada), and Taiwan.
“This year the exhibition was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and will be shown in Bhutan in April next year. Then, it will be held in Shanghai in October next year,” he said, lauding the efforts of SAS led by its president Edric Ong.
The theme of the World Crafts Cities Network Forum in conjunction with the 10th Biennial World Eco-Fibre and Textile (WEFT) Forum, Exhibition and Fashion Show is ‘Dress and Cultural Identity’. It began on Nov 8 and will end today.
