THE
Brunei Art Forum (BAF) will be auctioning off select artwork from its members
on February 25 and 26 as a way to develop a market for homegrown art.
Syen Sofian, a working committee member of
BAF, said the artwork will be sold at a discount of up to 50 per cent, slashing
prices from thousands to hundreds of dollars.
"So far the number of people buying art
is not that many, so we are trying to encourage people to support our local
artists by holding an auction at discounted prices," he said in an
interview at the Waterfront Gallery.
In the two months BAF has been stationed at
the Waterfront Gallery, Syen said collectively its members have only been able
sell 20 pieces, mostly decorative arts.
"The sale actually already started this
month, and even though the prices are very cheap, we just want to encourage
people to buy art and to bring some funds to our artists by getting their work
out there."
With the Brunei art scene still in its
infancy, Syen said an auction would a good way to test the market and gauge the
public response towards art in order to develop a legitimate pool of art lovers
and investors.
"If art is not valued how are we going to
expand creativity?" he said.
Despite the low sales, BAF has been successful
in attracting more than 2,000 visitors to the Waterfront Gallery since January
by holding regular events and incorporating performance and interactive arts.
"The number is very encouraging because
before we had the exhibition here nobody ever came to the Waterfront Gallery
because it was just some paintings hanging around," said Syen.
"A lot of times young people walk in but
they don't know the value of art. They just see the number which is the
price... But they don't know why it's expensive. So we try to explain to them
the process, the medium used by the artist, and what he or she is trying to
say... The majority of people who walk into the Waterfront Gallery have never
been to an art gallery."
By giving a platform to local talent, the
public will begin to see the value in their work, he added.
Sadly, by the end of the month BAF will have
to vacate their temporary space at the Waterfront Gallery which was on loan to
them by the Museums Department. The Brunei Museum will be re-installing its own
collection of artwork at the gallery.
Syen said the two-month sojourn has lead to a
very creative period for members, with the gallery unable to hold all the works
created during the two BAF exhibitions held there.
BAF hopes the auction will galvanise interest
in buying local art, and that they plan to target members of the diplomatic
corps as potential patrons of Bruneian art.
QURATUL-AIN BANDIAL
The Brunei Times
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