Sabah Art Gallery: The First Green Building in Sabah and Borneo
What is the Sabah Art Gallery?
The Sabah Art Gallery is a public art gallery in Kota Kinabalu. Its basket-shaped building was the first Green building in Sabah and Borneo, and it features over 3,000 paintings, carvings and sculptures, with more than 12 exhibitions a year.
Overview of the Sabah Art Gallery
The Sabah Art Gallery in Kota Kinabalu is the state's public art gallery. It features over 3,000 paintings, carvings and sculptures, and plans and showcases more than 12 exhibitions a year to present new artists, new themes and new approaches in art (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026).
For anyone interested in how Sabah expresses itself through painting, carving and contemporary media, the gallery is a natural starting point.
The first Green building in Sabah and Borneo
The building itself is part of the attraction. It is a distinctive basket-shaped building with decorative panels showing cultural motifs of Sabah's indigenous peoples. It was the first Green building in Sabah and Borneo, with silver accreditation from the Green Building Index Accreditation Panel in 2012 (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026).
Take a moment outside to look at the basket shape and the indigenous motif panels before heading in to the collection.
The collection and exhibitions
Sabah Tourism describes a collection of over 3,000 paintings, carvings and sculptures, and a programme of more than 12 exhibitions a year (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026).
Because exhibitions change through the year, it is worth checking what is showing before you go.
Sabahan artist: Yee I-Lann
Yee I-Lann was born in Kota Kinabalu in 1971 and lives and works there. Her art practice is primarily photomedia-based, and her first group exhibition was at the Sabah Art Gallery in 1994 (Yee I-Lann, checked 7 October 2026). Her work is held in collections including the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, the Singapore Art Museum and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (Yee I-Lann, checked 7 October 2026).
In recent years she has worked with weavers. Her 2023 exhibition lift the tikar! at ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur presented works made with Dusun and Murut weavers from Keningau and Bajau Sama DiLaut weavers on Pulau Omadal in Semporna (ILHAM Gallery, checked 7 October 2026).
Planning your visit
Sabah Tourism lists the gallery's contact numbers as +60 88 268 748 and +60 88 210 040 (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026). We could not find an official source for current opening hours or admission charges, so call ahead before you go.
With more than 12 exhibitions a year, the programme changes often. Ask the gallery what is showing when you call.