Visual Arts

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (2–8 July 2018)

Damansara International Arts Festival (DIAF), DPAC, 3–15 July In conjunction with the fifth anniversary of performing arts space DPAC, DIAF features two weeks of music, puppetry, dance, theatre and more. Many shows feature international performers. I recommend Malaysia’s Adab Berguru by BaiZam Generation, featuring three generations of dynamic wayang kulit tok dalang performers in one

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George Town marks UNESCO anniversary amid debate (via Nikkei Asian Review)

GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia — On any given weekend, a 15-meter-long queue of international tourists materializes at the upper corner of Armenian Street, an atmospheric road packed with tourist shops and cafes at the heart of George Town, capital of Malaysia’s Penang State. Selfie-stick-toting visitors wait patiently to snare shots next to George Town’s most iconic

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ANAT Experimenta Matthew Sleeth A Drone Opera 2015 Image courtesy of Arts House Melbourne Photography Lucy Spartalis
Lucy Spartalis

The Art and Consequence of Collaboration: Interview with Vicki Sowry and Jonathan Parsons

Presented by the National Arts Council Singapore, The Art and Consequence of Collaboration with the Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) and Experimenta is a series of presentations that give an insight into the art/technology and art/science sectors in Australia, scanning the development of these practices over the past 30 years and key areas of

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27 Artists Grapple with the Fractious Politics of Malaysia (via Hyperallergic)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Petani Semasa is a significant exhibition on contemporary art about the Patani region of Southern Thailand, that privileges local artists. Currently on display at the Ilham gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the works are deeply complicated, and largely unsettling. Featuring 27 artists, the show never resolves into a unified voice, but showcases the diversity of practice and experience of the

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Big Brother is watching you: the exhibition aiming to tackle surveillance and censorship (via SEA Globe)

Surveillance and censorship are becoming part and parcel of daily life around the world, and yet many citizens seem content to turn a blind eye to it. A new exhibition at Wei-Ling Gallery in Kuala Lumpur called Seen is addressing that issue. Curator Line Dalile brings together ten leading international and Malaysian artists, hoping that through documentary, photography

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Queer Zinefest

Podcast 42: Queer Zinefest 2018

Duration: 17 min Latest in the Fresh Blood series, we find out more about Singapore’s inaugural Queer Zinefest, a celebration of zine-making, queer art, and queer people, taking place on 14 July 2018 at Camp Kilo Charcoal Club. Beyond being a showcase of queer zines and zine-makers, the programme also features workshops, performances and other

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BACC

Cash-strapped BACC counts on friends in deed (via The Nation)

The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) Foundation is about to raise its profile as vice chairperson Panya Vijinthanasarn and committee secretary Chatvichai Promadhattavedi seek a meeting with the city’s unimpressed governor, Aswin Kwanmuang, about funding support and sustainable management. Whether the meeting is arranged or not, the foundation is organising a press conference to

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Amek Gambar

The History of Photography in Singapore Through Peranakan Eyes (via Invisible Flaneuse)

The exhibition Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography at Singapore’s Peranakan Museum (from May 5 to Feb 3 2019) is a rare glimpse into the very first and early days of the history of photography in Singapore through the lens of the peranakans — an ethnic group of mixed race Malay–Chinese with a richly distinctive culture, e.g. costumes (usually involving kebayas and

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Sohieb Toyaroja

Semar in the eyes of Sohieb Toyaroja (via The Jakarta Post)

For artist Sohieb Toyaroja, Semar is his favorite jester in Javanese mythology because the character is divine and very wise. Semar, one of four famous punakawan (jesters), has three sons: Petruk, Gareng and Bagong. Each has a different form, representing different philosophical characteristics of human beings. In Javanese wayang (shadow puppetry) stories, Semar is portrayed as a powerful figure,

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Saengjun_An elephant procession, Phang Nga copy
Saengjun Limlohakul/NUS Museum

The Artist-Curator’s Eye: Manit Sriwanichpoom’s “Rediscovering Forgotten Thai Masters of Photography”

By Elaine Chiew (1,600 words, eight-minute read) Art historian Patrick Flores first addressed the phenomenon of the artist-curator in his seminal essay Turns in Tropics [1] as someone who holds a certain power and who has become a key figure in shaping the art history of contemporary Southeast Asian art. Manit Sriwanichpoom’s exhibition Rediscovering Forgotten

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