Daerah discoveries Running for a good cause 12 A life of colours

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Daerah Discoveries

There is never a better time to explore what Brunei has to offer than right now. If anything the steadily improving health scenario across the Sultanate, which has been on the uptick for a few months now, lends a sense of urgency for us to exploit newly returned freedoms while we can. Many have already boarded planes heading overseas, while others packed supplies for that family road trip across the border.

With plentiful sights and sounds in our own backyard on offer, and with the lifting of the once-mandatory face mask requirement, travel nationwide has become more appealing. Whether it be to the green hotspots of Temburong or Tutong, the happening capital of Bandar, or the oil town in Kuala Belait, travel to idyllic locales within the 4 ‘daerah’ (districts) can now be made within increasingly more comfortable conditions.

It is for this reason that the Department of Tourism recently held a weekend exhibit at the Times Square shopping complex promoting local travel via adventures in nature, staycations in all 4 districts, as well as the services and products that are made in and are unique to Brunei. Energetic representatives from more than a dozen hotels, travel agencies, and tourist attractions inclusive of Jerudong Park and the Seria Energy Lab, could be seen chatting and laughing with visitors to their booths as they laid out a plethora of activities for keeping both families and solo travellers entertained. As the Covid situation continues to improve, the past quarter has seen a lot of Bruneians and expatriates taking the time to discover what each of our districts have to offer.

Running for a Good Cause

Time really does fly when you are having fun … or perhaps that was just the impression we all perceived due to the wind whipping past our collective ears as I, along with many other Bruneian citizens, permanent residents and expatriates, pounded the tarmac at speed in the name of a good cause.

Originally slated to take place throughout the month of February only, the World Cancer Day Run 2022 organised by this publication was extended to the end of March. This was in part due to popular demand by health and fitness advocates, as well as requests made by some of the participants who had unexpectedly contracted Covid, and lost 2-weeks worth of running time. No worries fellow runners, we got your back. Naturally it goes without saying that this cause is a one that the team and I have been holding close to our hearts since we literally took our first steps on this venture. With the aid of a final tally of 636 registrations for the first ever BiG Magazine Virtual Run, a hundred per cent of the proceeds – a total of $3,200 – was handed over to the Children’s Cancer Foundation, YASKA.

Taking place to coincide with Children Awareness month and Thalassemia Day – the proceeds were handed over by BiG Magazine Marketing Executive, Yasmin Jamal, to YASKA President, Haji Mohd Suffian bin Haji Zainal Abidin, at the Times Square shopping complex. The weekend-long YASKA exhibition, which also involved a blood drive and several activities aimed at encouraging children to move more, was attended by the Minister of Health, Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, who shared that “treatment for children with cancer and thalassemia has progressed significantly, leading to an increase in survival rates”. Good news across the board indeed.

A Life in

African art is having a moment. In the emergence of what has been termed a ‘renaissance’ for the existing traditional and contemporary arts movement in sub-continental Africa, Kaissa Traore has been busy.

The self-taught artist from Guinea-Conakry in West Africa, who has been based in our own backyard since 2016, recently launched her first solo exhibition in partnership with the Alliance Française of Brunei Darussalam. Titled ‘La Vie en Coleurs’ or ‘A Life in Colours’, Kaissa is an artist inspired by naïve art, symbolic and primitive art traditions, whose style also has inferences of traditional African and Aboriginal painting styles. Each work on display at the Alliance Française building is colourful and vibrantly filled from end to end on canvas, and there are definite themes on repetition in her work. Most notably that of the curvaceous female figures and acts of African dance which the artist is passionate about. Mami Wata (Mother Water) is one of these depicted in Kaissa’s work. The culturally revered water spirit often takes shape as a mermaid or snake charmer and also happens to signify good fortune in one’s finances.

Kaissa’s unique approach to detail leads to the emotive nature of her paintings shining through. As we walk through her home studio which is beautifully crowded with all kinds of paints, easels and finished canvases in every size imaginable, she tells me that there are over 100 paintings that she has completed in her time here in Brunei. Amongst the many completed canvases there are piles of equally bright and fun scarfs, mats and pillows that adorn various spots, with a self-made loom resting against a wall. She surprises me with her proclamation that she has made these over the last few months. It is a skill learned from her mother, Marenfing Keita, who is a direct decedent of Soundjeta Keita, the builder of the Empire of Mali. Her weaving aesthetic, like her paintings, is one that she has moulded into her own through experimentation and much trial and error. Kaissa also plans to open more solo exhibitions in various locations around the world.

Interested parties can contact Kaissa Traore at Kaissatraore@yahoo.com