| Danial Norjidi |
LOCAL works of art are finally given a public platform through a gallery, which has been showcasing Bruneian art exhibits both here and in overseas events.
Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio actively hosts artistic events to bring more awareness of the local art community to everyone, as part of its contribution to the development of cultural and creative industries in Brunei Darussalam.
Osveanne Osman, the Manager and Curator of Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio, explained that the gallery was set up in 2011 by its Creative Director, Osman Mohammad.
“Right now, what it does is provide this physical space to showcase local artwork,” she said. “That’s basically what this gallery is about. It’s about really showcasing what Bruneians can achieve with their own resources here, in Brunei, and also giving them a place and space to be seen; to be able to practice their art careers, and see what it is really like to live the life of an artist.”
The gallery, located in Kampong Sengkurong, is garnering attention through ‘EMERGE’ – an initiative to develop the contemporary art scene in Brunei Darussalam, by facilitating local emerging artists to showcase their works to the public.
EMERGE is also part of the gallery’s ongoing project to educate, discover and promote local talent, while helping home-grown talents to gain presence and marketability, both locally and internationally.
“It started with the vision that I shared with my father, who is the creative director of the gallery,” said Osveanne.“Both of us really wanted to create a space that would be able to showcase and provide that opportunity, because there aren’t many spaces and places in Brunei that are truly dedicated to art, and we wanted to create that.
“As a returning student myself, I dreamed of just being an artist and having a career as one, but there was no place, no space to exhibit my art. No studio for me to be able to create my art. No art management firm to market my work.
“That’s what EMERGE became: it became an art management, it became a gallery, it became this wonderful platform – both physical and virtual – to be able to create this place and space where people can come to see artwork; where artists can interact with their audiences; and where people can see what it means to be an artist. ‘How do I get my artwork shown?’ ‘How do I have relations with an art gallery?’ It was that culture. That’s what EMERGE is all about.”
The latest addition to the project is the ongoing ‘EMERGE 4: Synesthesia’ exhibition, from September 10 to October 8, featuring 15 local artists and 30 works of art on display. Regarding the theme for this particular exhibition, Osvean-ne said, “Synesthesia is about that sort of sublimi-nal connection between colours, sound – all the senses we have, manifesting in a different sense.
“Kandinsky is a very good example of that. He was a painter who listened to music, and that music manifested itself in colours and forms.”
On the responses from the local scene, she said that while just one year, more people are answering open calls and artists are a lot more responsive.
She said that the Creative Space has an ever-growing large network of artists. “Both the gallery and myself are willing to accommodate a variety of projects, which helps to expand our network,” she said. “I’d be working with two entirely different demographics in separate projects, so for now, I would definitely say that our veteran artists and our emerging artists belong to clear-cut categories.”
On the public response to their exhibitions, she said, “It keeps on growing, especially with schools, because we are keen to share every EMERGE exhibition with educational institutions.
“So we invite them, free of charge, so that they can be exposed to quality art being produced in Brunei – the local context, the subject matter and access to the artists, so that the students can write papers and observe the artists, which is a lot more personal; they can actually have access to those resources.
“The response has been very good and we would definitely love to see more interest from members of the public, because at the moment, we don’t charge for entry to the exhibition.”
When asked if there have been any buyers for art on the local front, she said, “Yes, that’s what we’ve been very happy about.”
Speaking on the art management services that Creative Space offers, she said, “We can make portfolios for them, from design to being able to give them consultations, along with advice on how you should put your portfolio together, to whom who you should send it, – pretty much everything that goes into a portfolio and how it is presented – and if you want us to carry that portfolio, then you are basically riding on our network, so we are able to actually distribute it to all these different countries and galleries.”
Asked about the scope of this international network, she said, “Right now, I would say that we are focused within the Asian region, as far as Bangladesh, Lahore and Pakistan, to Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Korea and Japan. Our ties in Southeast Asia are very strong, as are also those with Korea and Japan.
“We provide them with that service, which is basically access to our network, so that equals to getting international exposure. Not only do we create their profile, but we promote them on a local level, as well as on an international level.”
She underlined the importance of the artist’s portfolio, “It’s basically your first impression to any gallery and any collector, so we really put an emphasis on that service – from your artist statement to your art statement – we provide copyrighting and even photographs of your artwork to put together in that portfolio.”
She also encourages Bruneian artists to market their works elsewhere, saying that interest and recognition from abroad is beneficial for the artistic community in Brunei.
“Art is a very, very lucrative trade, and you can’t really put a number on it,” she said. “One year, it might be in the millions and the next, it might be in the billions. It’s something that we should really try and establish here in Brunei, because it is such a lucrative market. Once we treat art in Brunei as valuable, that’s when it will be actually valued. That’s just how art works.”
On the gallery’s next project, she said, “We are planning to hold some classes, which is a big step for us, because we are not just thinking of arts and crafts. We’re talking about, for example, master classes in watercolours, even to the extent of inviting over some notable artists from across the region.
“Eventually, what we want to create is a stronger art culture, to the point where we can provide an art education. That is the next very big step for us.
“We’re still continuing with the EMERGE project. Another one that we may start developing is a sort of cultural exchange project, where we invite overseas artists to come and experience Brunei, give them a range of topics and create artwork from that. We’ll showcase the works both here and in their respective countries. We would also send Bruneian artists abroad, for the same process.
“So those are the two things that we are looking forward to develop in the coming years,” she said.
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