Abang Johari (centre), accompanied by Awang Tengah (his right), visits a booth set up at BCCK for Sarawak Design Week 2023. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Feb 14): The four-day ‘Sarawak Design Week 2023’ has finally kicked off at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here, featuring designs for furniture, home décor, fashion and handicrafts.
The official launching ceremony of the event yesterday was performed by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg on a specially designed 360-degree stage located at the main exhibition hall of BCCK.
Sarawak Design Week 2023 is jointly organised by Sarawak Design Centre (Saradec) and Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and visitors can visit about 200 booths located across two floors of BCCK from 10am to 6pm until Feb 16.
There is also a special presentation by a keynote speaker, Datuk Prof Ian Davies @ Iskandar Abdullah, on the topic of ‘Design for Tomorrow, Driving Economic Transformation of Sarawak by Design’.
Davies has previously led the design teams in creating the interiors for Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Subang Skylark and corporate offices.
A SayD’Signers Pavillion at the main exhibition hall is also showcasing furniture designs by graduates of the Sarawak Young Designers (SayD’Signers) programme.
Saradec chief executive officer Dayang Nena Abang Bruce had previously said the organisers hoped to achieve RM10 million in sales, and trade enquiries through the four-day event.
Four Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) documents were exchanged at the ceremony yesterday between Saradec and Korean Furniture Association (Kofa); Sarawak Timber Association (STA); Miri Community College; and University of Technology Sarawak (UTS).
The MoU with Kofa is to develop design talent and creative design for the growth of the furniture industry in both Korea and Sarawak with the potential of working on joint projects in the future. The cooperation with STA is to work towards achieving a target of RM6 billion in value-added products.
As for the MoU with Miri Community College and UTS, both education institutions have been roped in for strategic collaboration to facilitate skills trainings and develop career paths, especially among SayD’Signers’s designers.
Deputy Premier and state Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan also delivered a speech at the launching ceremony earlier.
Sarawak Design Week 2023 is endorsed by the Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Investment Sarawak (Mintred), Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), as well as supported by Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC).
Supporting associations include STA and Sarawak Furniture Association, while event media are BorneoTalk, The Borneo Post, See Hua Daily, Utusan Borneo, Sin Chew Daily, Suara Sarawak, New Sarawak Tribune, Ukas, TVS and TEA FM.
To keep updated on Sarawak Design Week, members of the public can visit sarawakdesignweek.com, follow Saradec’s Facebook or Instagram pages.