A festival of diverse voices
Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival 2018 showcases almost 350 arts activities and performances, writes Dennis Chua
THE highly-anticipated Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival 2018 (YSDAF) returns tomorrow and Sunday at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPaC) in Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur, from 10am daily.
Malaysia’s biggest free-for-all arts festival, presented by Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) and KLPaC, showcases almost 350 arts activities and performances.
Held at the sprawling compound of KLPaC, this year’s YSDAF, themed You, Me + The Arts is a heartfelt edition as it brings different communities under one roof.
A festival of diverse voices, YSDAF 2018 will see the arts joining hands with other communities and causes.
Fuelled by the overwhelming response from previous festivals that garnered more than 30,000 visitors, YSDAF 2018 will take guests on a journey through crowd favourites as well as new programmes in line with the festival theme.
Yayasan Sime Darby chief executive officer Yatela Zainal Abidin says that the foundation aims to use the arts as a vehicle to convey the thoughts and feelings of those whose voices Malaysians rarely hear.
“We have realised that YSDAF is a solid platform with a brand of its own that can highlight the stories of those from various corners of our society — the corners that we sometimes miss paying attention to in the rush of our daily lives,” she says.
“For the third installation of YSDAF, we have decided to bring all of these initiatives under one roof. This year’s edition promises to be bigger and better than previous instalments and we hope everyone will join us for a fun weekend,” she adds.
KLPaC co-founder Datuk Faridah Merican says: “The all-time popular Life Sdn Bhd series will have a special edition highlighting real stories by real people on trending issues today.
“Besides the usual arts offerings, we will join hands with non-governmental organisations such as Women’s Aid Organisation, Malaysian AIDS Council, IDEAS Academy, HumanKind, Unicef, YMCA Deafbeat and The National Autism Society of Malaysia or Nasom to bring workshops and performances, which add to the variety of the festival.”
Imagine being serenaded by the latest hit bands, then stepping back in time to learn the traditional instrument Sape from Mathew Ngau Jau from Sarawak.
Then, hop over to an eye-opening workshop on equality by activist Peter Tan and enjoy an author talk by Andi Miranti, a teenage author and illustrator diagnosed with autism.
All this and more will be happening at the two-day festival.
Put together by a 500-strong contingent of Malaysian artistes and arts workers, guests will be able to enjoy a wide sampling of the arts, including dance, music, comedy, theatre, visual arts and children’s theatre in the form of performances, hands-on workshops, forums, screenings and exhibitions.
One unusual exhibition would be Subject Y by Chin Wen Yen, the winner of YSDAF 2018’s Pitch Start Grant.
A multi-sensory experience catered to the visually and hearing-impaired, Subject Y is an alternative to a traditional museum that plays up the different senses.
There will also be six outdoor installations under the banner Deria by Inti Centre of Art and Design (ICAD), as well as two indoor exhibitions focusing on the disabled called Barrier and Seeing Through My Songs by Peter Tan and Victor Chin.
There will also be an exciting line-up of bands curated by Soundscape Records which comprises rock legends Bittersweet, experimental act Pastel Lite, Enterprise, Fazz and Azmyl Yunor and Orkes Padu.
Other highlights include a traditional segment called Sounds and Sights of Orang Ulu by The Tuyang Initiative, award-winning films such as Redha and Adiwiraku as well as crowd favourites like AIIA, NETMBR, Drum Simfoni, Lee Wushu Arts Theatre, Balletbase, Young KL Singers (YKLS) and Kwangtung Dance Company.
Families with children can look forward to a storytelling followed by handson workshop by Anak Rimba Books, a shadow puppet performance called Hoong Siamang Hooong by Hongjiejie Work Station, a giant calligraphy performance by Master Tee, the Kuala Lumpur Children’s Choir, pop-up street performers along with other fun activities like batik painting, drum workshops as well as speech and drama workshops.
Call KLPaC at 03-4047 9000.