UEM Sunrise uses sales gallery to showcase local artworks in biodiversity push

UEM Sunrise has unveiled its community engagement initiative, “K’Artulistiwa”, which showcases works by local artists at its KAIA Heights sales gallery to spread awareness on environmental and animal conservation, as well as the preservation of cultural heritage. This is part of the company's aim to strengthen ties with the community.

The property developer also plans to turn its sales gallery into a space for various community-led activities such as murals, art workshops, as well as solo and group exhibitions by artists. These activities will be open to the public from 12 March onwards.

“K’Artulistiwa” is a play of the word khatulistiwa which is the Malay word for "equator" and symbolises Malaysia’s geographical location. Whereas the "K" represents the company's flagship township of Mont’Kiara, and "art" being a tool to bring communities together. As for the word "tulis", it translates to "write" which represents self-expression, and lastly, "Istiwa" is Arabic for preservation and stabilisation, which is aligned with the company’s philosophy.

Driven by the company's ESG goals, the art initiative also intends to highlight elements of UEM Sunrise's ESG framework. This latest initiative particularly highlights the environmental and social aspects by putting forth the urgent need to protect biodiversity as well as highlighting the importance of supporting community needs. According to UEM Sunrise's CEO, Sufian Abdullah, the company sees art as a vehicle for communication and social change.

"Art is after all a pillar of any civilised society. It is important that we lead by example by practising environmentally and socially sensitive development strategies. Our local artists are now our advocates,” Sufian explained. Sufian added that UEM Sunrise has plans underway to roll out the art initiative to the company's other sales galleries in the near future. A+M has reached out to UEM Sunrise for additional information regarding its art initiative. 

This is not the first time UEM Sunrise had community initiatives that revolve around art. In August 2021, the property developer unveiled its nature-themed mural "Happy Space at Lot 149" in Kuala Lumpur, adorned with colours of the local landscapes and its rich biodiversity. According to UEM Sunrise, the mural signified the company's commitment to sustainability and the environment. For the nature-themed mural, the property developer teamed up with eight local artists from E&M Services and Nippon Paint, which sponsored the paint used for the mural.

"As the mural is expected to be up for several more years, we look forward to more eyeballs and excitement as the lockdown is lifted and the economy opens up again," said Sufian at that time. He added that through this method, the company aims to support the local art scene by creating greater awareness of the immense amount of talent amongst Malaysian artists. 

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