
Kulleh Grasi is a multidisciplinary artist who champions and fights for the arts and culture of the native people of Borneo, especially the Iban tribe. Being professionally involved in the performing arts with his band, Nading Rhapsody, since 2012 has opened up various opportunities for him to continue working in the arts scene. Kulleh has also produced a collection of poems, Tell Me Kenyalang, translated into English by Pauline Fan and published by Circumference Book in 2019, which has attracted significant local media attention and global recognition. His works have been published in local and international publications, including Poetry Society of America, Society of Poetry-United Kingdom, Asian-American Transpacific Project, Mekong Review-Sydney, Going Places-(MAS) in flight magazine, Svara, Berita Harian, and Sourced-London. Apart from being shortlisted for the America National Translation Award 2020 (NTA) and the Best Translation Book Award of America (BTBA) 2020, Kulleh was also listed as one of the Asia Most Influential recipients by Tatler Asia magazine in 2021. As a visual artist, Kulleh’s work focuses on folklore, mythological, and traditional motifs and music.
庫勒·格拉西是一位跨領域藝術家,長期致力於推廣與捍衛婆羅洲原住民族,尤其是伊班族(Iban)的藝術與文化。自2012年起,他以樂團「Nading Rhapsody」成員的身份活躍於表演藝術界,並藉此開展了多元的藝術實踐與合作機會,持續深耕於當地及國際藝術領域。
除了音樂創作之外,庫勒亦是一位備受矚目的詩人。他的詩集《告訴我吧,犀鳥》(Tell Me Kenyalang)由范綺倫(Pauline Fan)翻譯成英文,並於2019年由 Circumference Books 出版。該書不僅獲得馬來西亞本地媒體廣泛報導,也在國際文壇引起高度關注與迴響。
他的作品曾刊載於多份本地及國際刊物,包括美國詩歌學會(Poetry Society of America)、英國詩歌協會(Poetry Society, United Kingdom)、Asian-American Transpacific Project、《Mekong Review》(悉尼)、馬來西亞航空機上雜誌《Going Places》、Svara、《每日新聞》(Berita Harian)以及倫敦出版的Sourced等。
在文學領域方面,《告訴我吧,犀鳥》曾入圍2020年美國國家翻譯獎(National Translation Award, NTA)及美國最佳翻譯圖書獎(Best Translated Book Award, BTBA)決選名單。此外,庫勒亦於2021年獲《Tatler Asia》選為「亞洲最具影響力人物」(Asia’s Most Influential)之一,彰顯其在文化與藝術領域的重要影響力。
作為視覺藝術家,庫勒的創作主要圍繞婆羅洲原住民族的民間傳說、神話故事、傳統圖騰與音樂文化展開,透過當代藝術形式重新詮釋與傳承祖先的文化記憶,展現原住民族藝術在當代世界中的生命力與創造力。
