Hin_Bus_Depot_2022
The main exhibition space at Hin Bus Depot. Image credit: Wael Qarssifi.

Building Practice: Arts Spaces in Malaysia

The arts ecosystems in many parts of Southeast Asia are under-resourced. In this environment, independent arts spaces provide invaluable opportunities and support to the wider community. Deborah Augustin interviews the people behind four arts spaces in Malaysia to learn more about their work and how they have survived in an evolving landscape.

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Collage by Pristine de Leon and Alvin Zafra
Collage by Pristine L. de Leon and Alvin Zafra. Full image credits below.

Criticism and Tears: The Emotional is Political in the Marcos State

When a film taps on emotions to distort historical facts, criticism that uses a rational, adversarial voice, above the work and the audiences who enjoy it may fail to dislodge the emotive power of the work’s narrative. Pristine De Leon looks for a path forward as a critic in this tricky landscape in her review of Maid in Malacañang’, a fictionalised retelling of the last days of the first Marcos presidency.

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©Sao Sreymao 1
Image credit: Sao Sreymao.

Echoes from the Stars: A Collective Map of Love, Memories and Regret

Jean Baptise Phou’s work My Mother’s Tongue began as a way for the artist to examine his relationship with his Teochew-speaking mother. Through collocations with other artists and audiences, the work has undergone different manifestations, but remains an “an exploration of the barriers to connection that transcend language” writes Deborah Augustine.

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02 – Liarsip – top row-Julita Pratiwi, Lisabona Rahman, Umi Lestari. middle row-Efi Sri Handayani_ pictured in laptop-Imelda Mandala
Top row- Julia Pratiwi, Lisabona Rahman & Umi Lestari. Middle row- Efi Sri Handayani. Pictured in laptop- Imelda Mandala. Image credit: Liarsip.

Finding Ratna Asmara and the Herstory of Indonesian Cinema

The tale of a pioneering woman Indonesian filmmaker converges with the mission of a group of women film researchers, as Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu highlights how archives and historical records often render some stories invisible.

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In Search of Singapore’s Early Opera History

Corey Koh began with a simple question about the early days of opera in Singapore. Trawling through newspaper archives and scholarly articles, Corey, a young classical tenor who has performed widely in Singapore and abroad, uncovers a fascinating story of Singapore’s place within a larger transcontinental touring circuit, and gives us a glimpse into early performance criticism in Singapore.

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