SPEECH BY TYT TAN SRI AMBASSADOR
RUMAH EXHIBITION – GALERIE HUIT, ARLES
24 MAY 2013
H.E Mr. Hervé Schiavetti
Mayor of Arles
Datuk Zulkfli Mohamed
Permanent Delegate of Malaysia to UNESCO
Mr. Jean-Leopold
Hon Consul of Austria in Marseille
Madame Julia de Bierre
Organiser of RUMAH Exposition
Founder of Galerie Huit , Curator & Author of Penang Book
Distinguished Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen
‘Bonjour’, very good evening and Selamat Petang.
Je suis ravi d’être ici parmi vous ce soir. Je vais continuer en Anglais parce-que je ne parle pas Français.
Let me first of all begin by thanking Madame Julia for her nobel efforts to showcase Malaysia at Galerie Huit, in this beautiful cultural city of Arles by way of a 3-month period of RUMAH Exhibition until the month of June featuring the states of Malacca, Penang and Sarawak. Malaysia is blessed altogether with 11 states, each with its own characteristics, attractions and cultures. In other words, this exhibition is only showing a 1/4 of Malaysia and to see all of them is for you to visit this wonderful country of mine.
The exhibition that Madame Julia puts together is participated by accomplished contemporary Malaysian artists Hiang Kee and resident artist Ashley Nandong ; while Tanoti presents the traditional looms of songket and thank you (Jacqueline) for flying in the 2 Malaysian weavers to demonstrate the traditional arts of weaving.
I also would like to thank the following personalities who are Julia's special guests present here with us tonight. They are:
Madame Marie Hugo, who needs no introduction, being a descendant of the distinguished French poet, novelist and artist of the 19th century,
Monsieur Victor Hugo plus through her familiarity and connection with Malaysia presents her brilliant interpretation of Malay Pantuns in Jawi captured in art form.
Monsieur James-Bain Smith, a visiting Anglo-French photographer, for contributing his lovely pieces of ‘RUMAH’ images.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am happy to announce that Madame Julia had incorporated Tourism Malaysia in Paris to support and participate in this RUMAH Exhibition. This valuable experience thus gives us the opportunity to establish new acquaintances and expand networks.
For your information, next year Malaysia will be celebrating Visit Malaysia Year 2014. To this end, I hope French arts & cultural enthusiasts besides visiting Malaysia, will have the opportunity to discover local arts scene, both traditional and contemporaries. The 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival takes place in September 2014 and we hope you’ll find time to combine holidays with art journey as you visit Malaysia.
We are happy to share with you that in the first quarter of this year, the French travellers to Malaysia increased by 10.6% as compared to the same period last year. With the many activities in place and specifically for arts lovers, Malaysia welcomes you to discover the ‘arts trail programme’ a voyage specializing in art trips offered by specialised tour operators in Malaysia.
I also understand from Madame Julia that this is the 1st edition/series of RUMAH at Galerie Huit, and Malaysian-born Julia intends to make this as an annual affair Galerie Huit to help promote Malaysia in France.
Through Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, she already established Penang as her 2nd home along Muntri Street, where her petit Galerie Huit is also located.
My speech is incomplete if I do not thank the Mayor of Arles whose presence here tonight is a manifestation of his commitment to the well-being of the people of Arles and its visitors. Thank you HE Mr. Schiavetti for your kind presence, encouragement and support to make this event a great success.
And to Madame Julia, thank you for inviting me and my wife to this brief but exciting arts weekend in the heritage city of Arles. Your hospitality has been wonderful. I wish you and the RUMAH team a great success! And to the rest of of you, have a wonderful evening.
Thank You.
