By Veronica Shunmugam In last week’s part of what the arts meant to 2007, I looked at what the arts community offered in terms of nation building, promoting heritage and arts-culture exchange. In the second part of this overview, I’d like to highlight arts outreach, arts for health, how options for arts training as well […]
By Zedeck Siew Things began in 1975: the world’s first home computers were made available to the public; American Congress had signed the Foreign Assistance Act, leaving the Republic of Vietnam to its fate; and Marion D’Cruz, who would become one of Malaysia’s most important dance practitioners, was walking the corridors of the Universiti Sains […]
By Zedeck Siew Tell us about yourself. Did you, like any other good middle-class child, have to pick up a formal musical instrument? Yes, my parents insisted I attend piano lessons, beginning at age seven — although they had to drag me kicking and screaming the first few years. I got bored easily, and got […]
By Tan Sooi Beng Cultural identity formation and national belonging in the contemporary age is complex. Most Chinese who are born overseas no longer look to China as their homeland, and the ethnically Chinese who now live in Malaysia are no different. Malaysian Chinese who have visited southern China — wherefrom their forefathers originated — […]
By Benjamin McKay In an attempt to uncover the mysteries of creative practice in Malaysia, and discern what makes Malaysian artists unique to their time and place, I plan to interview an array of local cultural practitioners over the next year. I begin this enquiry with a conversation with Mark Teh. Mark, 25, has been […]
By Kakiseni So the Yang di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, on the occasion of his 84th birthday, handed out 1441 royal gifts in the forms of titles and certificates to outstanding Malaysians, as is his wont (last year, he gave one to Datuk Faridah Merican, much to our collective delight). Not that a mere […]
By Kathy Rowland Can I use the word “inscrutable” to describe an ethnic Chinese man without being accused of resorting to cliché? Because inscrutable is really the adjective that springs to mind when I think of James Lee, the chess master, moving bodies like pawns in Myra Mahyuddin’s A Sleepwalker in Transit, on a rainy Sunday afternoon […]
By Zedeck Siew Stella Maris, a mission school in Pudu that shares its premises with a chapel under restoration, found itself playing host to the Asian Youth Artsmall Exchange, a 9-day workshop for those interested in taking the arts to marginalised communities. Organised by Five Arts Centre, one of the pioneers of community arts in […]
By Maya Tan Abdullah What makes a Malaysian musical Malaysian? It’s written by a Malaysian even though it could be about a bunch of Italians It’s set in Malaysia with Malaysian characters and traditional Malaysian music It’s a musical from somewhere else but wholly performed by Malaysians It’s written by a foreigner but is about […]
By Isham Rais Tidak berapa lama dahulu saya telah diundang oleh geng Kakiseni untuk merewang ke Kampung Pinang di Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya Utara. Saya telah agak biasa dengan kawasan ini. Pada pilihanraya yang lepas beberapa anak-anak muda dari kawasan ini telah datang untuk menyertai kumpulan teater jalanan Universiti Bangsar Utama (UBU). Anak-anak muda dari […]
By Antares On opening night of Monkey Business, director Krishen Jit wasn’t sitting like a stone deity in the foyer with an inscrutable look on his face, as is his wont. He was recuperating from another cardiac arrest in the National Heart Institute. However, those involved with Five Arts Centre seemed quite cheerful as they […]
By Jerome Kugan Five Arts’ humble beginning in 1984 was a dismal time. According to co-founder and veteran theatre director Krishen Jit, there was no concerted effort to produce local work in English that speaks of contemporary concerns. “Even though there had been works staged by Syed Alwi, K Das, Edward Dorall and others before […]
By Fahmi Fadzil The Taman Medan community arts project by Five Arts Centre recently won the IMG Most Outstanding Educational or Community Development Project Award at the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards 2003. Fahmi Fadzil, who was involved in the ‘Ada Apa?’ arts project, also by Five Arts Centre, compares the two different projects. Mark Teh […]
By Toni Kasim If you haven’t kept up with the brouhaha over Five Arts Centre’s permit to stage Election Day, do read Pang Khee Teik’s write-up Dealing with DBKL. Election Day, written by Huzir Sulaiman, directed by Krishen Jit, and performed solely by Jo Kukathas, eventually made it to opening night. It is due to […]
By Fahmi Fadzil Note: According to Five Arts Centre producer Marion D’Cruz, Election Day has been given a “verbal approval” by the Licensing Department of DBKL to proceed with its performance at The Actors Studio Bangsar from Thursday Feb 12 to Saturday Feb 28. *** Datuk Bandar Y.Bhg. Kol. Datuk Mohmad b Mohd Taufek 9th […]
