Ocean 7 Art Gal/ery exhibits paintings by VMS students Nm- Ib·4-· ~O lb ~ By THERENES VOO [email protected] KOTA KINABALU: Paintings by the art students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (VMS) will be enjoyed by a wider au dience when the collection is displayed at the Ocean7 Art Gallery. Located on the second floor of the Oceanus Waterfront Mall here, nine stu dents have been selected to showcase their work to mark the debut at the gallery's latest exhibition, "Art Inspiration Exhi bition". The exhibition showcases a total of 32 paintings by 21 professional local artists and UMS students. It was launched by the university's deputy vice chancellor, Prof. Dr. Shahril Yusof yester~ay. In an interview with the media yes terday. he thanked the owner of the gallery, Datin Sharifah Habsah Habib Alawi for her generosity in providing a platform for the university's students to exhibit their work. The students not only have a place to display their paintings but also a venue where they can gain greater exposure from having their work exhibited next to those of veteran artists' . .Meanwhile, Sharifah who was also pre sent at the occasion yesterday said the students must learn to be independent. "Students need to learn to be inde pendent and learn how to do business re lated to the arts. ''They need more exposure and be dar- Sharifah (second left), Shahril (second right) and Shim (right) looking at the work on display at th e Art Inspiration Exhibition hdd at the Ocean7 Art Gallery. ing enough to move up to the next level and not hope for government support all the time," she said. • Sharifah hopes to raise the local art industry to the international level and col laborating with UMS and other priV3le bodies will be the first step to achieving her goal. Although the local t.ilents are still raw, she is confident that with some polishing, they have what it takes . to moVe to a higher level. She admitted very little exposure is given on the art industry in Sabah but she believes organising more activities or ex hibitions will eventually encourage more locals to start appreciating the beauty of art. "We have to educate the locals more about this industry. We are just at an early stage now with most people still viewing art as the last thing they want to have. "Soon, people will come to understand that life is an art itself," she added. Also present at the event yesterday we:r;; the gallery's managing director, Shim Yen lin and creative director, Dewina Saidin.