By Nur Athirah Abdullah The Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018 (RFF 2018) is less than a month away! Not to be mistaken for the Rainforest World Music Festival, one of the region’s best world music festivals, the Fringe is a cool combo of the very best of Sarawak’s music, art, craft, film, photography, and food. Helmed […]
Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018: Top 8 Picks Read More »
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
ILHAM Gallery sits like a secret jewel box in the black-ice exterior of Menara ILHAM, where it has played host to celebrated artists and conceptual experimenters since it opened its doors in August 2015. Today, it is working at the frontline of arts education through an eclectic selection of multimedia exhibitions and public programming. The
ILHAM Gallery is a trailblazer in the Malaysian art scene (via Luxuo) Read More »
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
Podcast 42: Queer Zinefest 2018 Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Ngawi and Bali from 18-24 June 2018 In the small town of Ngawi that is located on the border of Central and West Java, there will be a film screening and discussion of 5 Villages. Organised by Goethe-Institut Indonesia, 5 Villages showcases the documentary films created from
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (18 – 24 June 2018) Read More »
Live Fact Presents: Protomartyr, at Live Fact, 20 June, 8pm American rock band Protomartyr is performing in Live Fact this Wednesday. The band features Joe Casey on vocals, Greg Ahee on guitar, Alex Leonard on drums and Scott Davidson on bass guitar. Their latest album is Relatives in Descent. Admission is RM40 at the door
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (18 – 24 June 2018) Read More »
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
Cash-strapped BACC counts on friends in deed (via The Nation) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Bali from 11-17 June 2018 Barus is a region in Central Tapanuli in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Between the 7th and 15th century, Barus was a center of spice trading in Indonesia that connected the region to the West through the Silk Road. The traders of Iraq,
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (11 – 17 June 2018) Read More »
As alumni of the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) returned to retrieve paintings they had made for their assignments, a well-known Cambodian photographer spotted one of his among the pile. In a picture posted on Facebook, Mak Remissa, who is known for his photography work for the European Press Agency (EPA) and Cambodge Soir,
Famous photographer finds his old painting (via The Phnom Penh Post) Read More »
A photo exhibition takes the viewer behind the curtain of Myanmar’s jade industry Myanmar jade is one of the most beautiful in the world. It is also one of the bloodiest. One of the best mines is in the war-torn Kachin state where ethnic armed groups and the Burmese armed force are at each others’ throats.
The Journey of the Blood Jade (via Myanmar Times) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta from 4 – 10 June 2018 We begin our weekly picks in Bali with the True Line exhibition by Sanggar Bares. Created by I Nyomana Bratayasa, Sanggar Bares is a studio where children of all ages can come to express themselves through drawings. The
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (4 – 10 June 2018) Read More »
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
The History of Photography in Singapore Through Peranakan Eyes (via Invisible Flaneuse) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Yogyakarta and Jakarta from 28 May – 3 June 2018 It’s a brand new week and we’re bringing you a variety of selections of art events in Indonesia that are happening this week! Stories and storytelling are integral parts of various cultures. The Javanese culture is one
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (28 May – 3 June 2018) Read More »
Famous Korean artist Park Jin Woo and three other Korean artists (Chong Eun Mi, Nam Yeo Joo and Kwon Young Sil) held a 3-day exhibition, from 20 to 23 May. They showed their amazing art works at The Yangon Gallery. Their creations are very different from what the Myanmar audience is used to. Each had
K-paint in Myanmar: Four Korean artists on show at Yangon Gallery (via Myanmar Times) Read More »
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,
Semar in the eyes of Sohieb Toyaroja (via The Jakarta Post) Read More »
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
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali from 21 – 27 May 2018 If you feel like catching some films on Tuesday night, head to Goethehaus in Jakarta to catch Indentitas, a screening of 5 Indonesian short films. The five films screened are Along the One Way by Bani Nasution, On
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (21 – 27 May 2018) Read More »
Visual Amek Gambar (Taking Pictures) – Peranakans and Photography by Peranakan Museum 5 May – Sun 3 Feb 2019 This exhibition displays the lives of Peranakans across Southeast Asia through a large collection of photographs. The role of photography was evident as Peranakans took advantage of this visual art form over the last 160 years. From
Weekly Picks: Singapore (21 – 27 May 2018) Read More »
By Lainie Yeoh NINE Theatre Festival, at Sunway University Rooftop Theatre, 21 & 22 May The students from the Diploma in Performing Arts 2016 of Sunway University offer a wide selection of staged performances, readings, and site-specific installations in this festival. The themes explored are Love, Time & Death. Individual shows are RM15, a festival
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (21 – 27 May 2018) Read More »
Seelan Palay, a local artist, has been charged by the Attorney-General’s Chambers for participating in a public procession from Hong Lim Park to the National Gallery, and to the Parliament House on 1 October 2017. It is written in the charge sheet that the public procession is to publicise the cause of “the illegal detention
“These are not the places we discussed, nor I wanted to go,” Singaporean photographer Billy Mork exclaimed in exasperation to his Bhutanese guide. Mork had just flown via the Royal Bhutan airline and landed at the taciturn kingdom’s Paro Airport. The guide picked him up and amiably brought him to take in some of the town’s famed tourist sites. Upon
By Nabilah Said (2,220 words, 11-minute read) Had Malaysian artist-poet Latiff Mohidin been French, he might perhaps strongly identify with the idea of the flâneur. Coined by French poet Charles Baudelaire, the French word for someone who strolls in the city found cachet as a description of the artist-poet who drew inspiration from the city
Making Our Own Centres (Of) Ourselves: Latiff Mohidin’s “Pago Pago (1960-1969)” Read More »
Whenever he returns from a foreign country, Khin Zaw Latt feels unwell with frustration. He feels sick, but not because of Zika or SARS, but at the drought of art in his country. Art museums and communities in countries like the United States, France, Singapore, and Indonesia where he has been make him realize what
Artist strives to develop Myanmar art scene (via The Irrawady) Read More »
6am is a pretty unremarkable time. It’s the time Singaporean students are woken up by alarm clocks or family members, blearily rubbing the sleep from their eyes to prepare for another school day. It’s the time people start making breakfast or getting ready for work. It’s that quiet, dim hour before the sun rises over
Voices on Death Row: GroundZ-0’s “0600” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Bali from 14 – 20 May 2018 Komunitas Salihara is organizing a lecture on the 15th of May 2018 titled 20 Tahun Reformasi: Majukah Rasionalitas dan Budaya Ilmiah Kita? The talk looks at how after 2 decades of reformation, Indonesia is still dealing with basic primordial
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (14 – 20 May 2018) Read More »
Pissed Julie by Nine Years Theatre, KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT, 17 – 20 May Nine Years Theatre’s rendition of August Strindberg’s Mies Julie brings the 19th century European tale head to head with the concerns of 21st century post-colonial Asian cities. This production is born from a collaboration between the Singaporean theatre
Weekly Picks: Singapore (14 – 20 May 2018) Read More »
By Lainie Yeoh Majlis Himpunan Warga Seni PH (Pakatan Harapan), Auditorium MATIC, 15 May 3pm Despite the name (Assembly of Artists PH), this is not officially sanctioned by Pakatan Harapan, nor does it seem to be organised by Pakatan Harapan supporters (although political allegiances in the arts have been tenuous lately, so who knows). This
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (14 May – 20 May 2018) Read More »
‘Some people asked me why I didn’t paint Lord Rama [Phra Ram from the Ramakien epic] green,” said 88-year-old Aree Soothipunt in his husky voice, pointing to his abstract painting from the late 70s of a blue-skinned Rama. “The literature never specified that he was green. Anyone who said he’s supposed to be green can walk
Art is for everyone: Aree Soothipunt (via Bangkok Post) Read More »
A growing number of Thai street artists are turning political and getting their anti-corruption messages across with spray paint. Most keep their identity secret for fear of reprisals from the authorities. South China Morning Post speaks with three artists. There are many ways to fight the establishment, and Headache Stencil does so with graffiti. The
Hasanul Isyraf Idris is a Malaysian artist who works with a variety of different materials to present his often intricate and surreal ideas, inspired by his home country’s colourful history. Hasanul Isyraf Idris’s fourth solo feature with Richard Koh Fine Art took place last week, showing at VOLTA art fair, New York. Titled Environment of
How one artist is exploring his roots through vibrant, surreal artworks (via SEA Globe) Read More »
