Magnificent Niah caves to be preserved through artistic visuals

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MIRI: Niah Artists Camp 2014 (KPN14) to be held from Sept 13 – 18 is poised to accelerate greater worldwide awareness of the Niah caves which housed the oldest skeletal remains in Southeast Asia.

Amidst the magnificent view at Niah Caves.

A total of 30 selected artists and photographers from throughout Malaysia will attend the camp.

It is jointly organised by the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism (1MCAT) and the National Visual Arts Development Board (NVAB) in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.

This camp will be held at the Niah National Park itself, which is probably the least visited by artists and photographers although it housed important records on the beginning of visual arts evident by the painted caves in the park.

“Among the objectives is to gather these artists and photographers so that they can better understand the civilisation and document this important historical Malaysian nature in sketches and photographs,” said the spokesman for the organisers.

At the same time it promotes the park as a premier tourist destination including for artists.

The Niah Caves was declared a National Historic Monument in 1958 and the Niah National Park was gazetted in 1974. The park spans over 31 square km of protected lowland forest and limestone hills, the largest being Gunung Subis, which dominates the landscape at a height of 394 metres above sea level.  It preserved an amazing record of Borneo’s prehistoric animals, which include the tapir, which is now extinct in Borneo, and giant forms of wild boars and anteater.

The spokesman added that during the week-long camp, participants will be exposed to the historical aspects of the caves including excavation and archeology, techniques of conservation and management of swiflets in the caves apart from the culture and traditions of the local community.

There will be talks, dialogues, workshop for students, paintings of murals and grafitti, gala dinner, traditional performance and the compulsory sketching and taking of photographs.

“Selected works will be documented and also exhibited to be shared with the local communities and also for the participants’ and the world community’s reference,” the spokesman added.