Protected: Quiz: How much do you know about arts censorship in Malaysia?
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Zakir Hossain, a celebrated poet and migrant worker in Singapore, wrote a poem, which sparked a response from the state. Diana Rahim reflects on the power of words, wielded to question, and words wielded to control.
“If satire is so toothless, then why are cartoonists so often badly bitten?” Ann Lee reviews RED LINES: Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship by Cherian George and Sonny Liew. The distribution of this book, which examines the boundaries of free speech, has been banned by the Singapore government under its “Undesirable Publications Act”. …
RED LINES: 60 Global Cartoonists Talk Fear And Favour Read More »
A new collection of poems and essays bears witness to the bravery of ordinary citizens since the brutal military coupe of Feb 2021 in Myanmar.
A new collection of poems and essays bears witness to the bravery of ordinary citizens since the brutal military coupe of Feb 2021 in Myanmar.
by Kathy Rowland In a first for Malaysian art history, a Collectors’ Petition signed by 55 private art collectors have warned Balai Seni Visual Negara that they will no longer be lending works from their collection to Balai in future unless Balai reinstates pieces removed from Ahmad Fuad Osman’s exhibition immediately. Fuad Osman’s critically praised …
Leading art collectors put pressure on Balai Seni Visual Negara Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (1400 words, 8 minute read) Balai Seni Visual Negara Malaysia (Balai) is once again accused of censoring artists’ work. The victim this time is noted visual artist Ahmad Fuad Osman, who was honoured with a mid-career solo show at Balai, At the End of the Day Even Art is Not Important (1990 …
Arts censorship: At the end of the day, this is not new Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (2144 words, nine-minute read) The naked body on stage (even if only imagined) has a potent social power: taboos surrounding the body can shock and offend some Singaporeans. But when did this start? How has public response to incidences of nudity on the Singapore stage changed, and how have changing policies on …
Unravelling the History of Nudity in Singapore Theatre Read More »
In this over-the-shoulder ‘clocking’ of Loo Zihan’s solo performance I see the silhouette of my own head looking on from the side. Having worked extensively with Zihan over the past several years, I find writing a review of his performance exceedingly difficult. How do I cram so much data into such a tiny space? The …
By Kathy Rowland (1165 words, 5-minute read) Coloured ink on paper. Only a society that polices gender and sexuality can turn ordinary photos into weapons of mass gay conversion. Over the past eight iterations, the George Town Festival (GTF) has built an international name for itself as a gem of a festival – a small, …
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 …
A Malaysian artist and prominent opposition activist was jailed for a month on Tuesday for publishing a caricature of Prime Minister Najib Razak looking like a clown, a ruling likely to exacerbate concern about free speech. Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy recently announced plans to amend a law to stamp out fake news, the latest step …
Malaysian court jails, fines artist for clown caricature of PM (via Reuters) Read More »
“Singapore has banned a film festival from screening a documentary later this week that features a teenage Palestinian female activist whose arrest last month has made her a symbol of resistance to Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. Justifying the ban, authorities in the Southeast Asian city state said the film “Radiance of Resistance” was …
Singapore bans film focused on indicted Palestinian teen Read More »
Since he broke into the literary scene in his teens, Malaysian writer and academic, Dr Faizal Musa, better know by his pen name, Faisal Tehrani, has written several best selling and critically acclaimed novels and short stories. His articles on issues of culture, human rights and religion have also appeared in periodicals, newspapers and blogs. …
By Carmen Nge (1110 words, 10-minute read) The dust appears to have settled on the recent controversy surrounding the removal of Malaysian art collective Pangrok Sulap’s artwork Sabah Tanah Air-Ku from the art exhibition, “Escape from the SEA”. Organized by the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL), “Escape from the SEA” was a group exhibition featuring …
No Escape from the C: Reflections on Censorship and Curation in the Pangrok Sulap case Read More »
KUALA LUMPUR: A human rights activist has been fined RM10,000 Wednesday by the magistrate’s court here for screening a Sri Lankan civil war documentary which had not been approved by the Censorship Board. Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris sentenced Lena Hendry, 32, after she was found guilty of screening the documentary. Read the rest of …
Activist Lena Hendry fined RM10,000 over unapproved documentary screening Read More »
PETALING JAYA: Just like the fairy tale itself, the controversy over Disney’s live-action film Beauty and the Beast will have a happy ending in Malaysia. According to an industry insider, the movie has been approved for release in Malaysia with a rating of PG13 from March 30 onwards. The movie will be shown in its …
Happy Ending To Beauty and the Beast Controversy in Malaysia Read More »
Earlier today Malaysian landscape architect, Ng Sek San uploaded several images of Pangrok Sulap’s artwork, a collective of woodcut print pieces that had been removed from an exhibition for being err… too sediyes. To read the rest of this article click here. Tags: censorship
By Corrie Tan (2043 words, 15-minute read) It was January 26, 1907, a Saturday night in Dublin, Ireland. Audience members, rowdy and revolted, were pouring out of the Abbey Theatre after the premiere of playwright J. M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. These riots would continue throughout the play’s week-long run, with the …
When Your Privates Become Public: From Synge to M1 Fringe Read More »