My Culture Loving Friends - Part 2

With Leonard during BHF 2011

        

My next culture loving friend is Leonard Yiu, the owner of Art House Gallery near Central Market, Kuala Lumpur. I met him for the first time when I visited his gallery in 2010 and I was amazed on how can a Chinese guy from West Malaysia has this strong interest in collecting Borneo arts particularly antiques of the Iban, Orang Ulu and also of Dayak Kalimantan, Indonesia. 

His knowledge on Borneo artifacts is very extensive and worth a chat over coffee (don't get intimidated by his reserved character). He is ever ready to tell you his adventures around Sarawak and Kalimantan and relates it to each piece of artifact that he collects along the way. 

Among the collections

Vast collection of wood carvings

His gallery may not be as big as the museum but cosy and extensive enough to explain how the artifacts are interconnected with the peoples' culture during the time. Apart from having the Borneo section of the gallery, he also has collections of Chinese artifacts that he gathered throughout his adventures.

He loves collecting masks

Cosy spot by the window

His objectives in establishing the gallery are:

TO COLLECT AND SAFEGUARD THE HERITAGE OF OUR NATIVE ART OF SARAWAK

TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERY, TO PROVIDE SCHOLASHIP AND DISTINCTION OF THE VARIOUS ANTIQUES AND ARTEFACTS BELONGING TO THE MULTI-ETHNIC GROUPS. NOT ONLY OF SARAWAK AND SABAH, BUT OF THE WHOLE ISLAND OF BORNEO

TO PROMOTE RELATIONSHIP, AND FOSTER BILATERAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF WEST AND EAST MALAYSIA THRU ARTS AND CULTURE

     

TO CREATE THE FIRST( AND PROBABLY THE ONLY) MINI-MUSEUM OF ETHNIC ART HERE IN MALAYSIA

TO EXPAND MY COLLECTION OF ETHNIC ARTS OF THE ENTIRE REGION, TO SHOWCASE AND MAKE COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE ENTIRE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

TO PRODUCE WRITINGS, CATALOGUE AND MAKE MY OWN RESEARCH ON VARIOUS NATIVE CULTURES, TO OFFER AUTHENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION TO VARIOUS ETHNOGRAPHIC OBJECTS

OFFER FOREIGN VISITORS A PLACE TO APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND OUR BEAUTIFUL NATIVE ART AND CULTURE.

Please visit him at:

 Art House Gallery

                                Lot 3.04, 2nd Floor, Annexe Building,

                                Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

                                Tel: + 603 203 11468

                                Open daily: 11.00 am - 7.30pm

                                
For more information please contact 
Mr Leonard Yiu (012 - 388 6868) or
email: leonsru@hotmail.com

There you go...my culture loving friend, Leonard Yiu!