WAK 2017 celebrates arts, cultures and lifestyles of citizens
KUCHING: The name ‘About Kuching’ was the result of a long table discussion where people on one end were unable to hear those at the other end clearly.
thesundaypost recently met up with What About Kuching (WAK) 2017 committee members Aurelia Liu and Jee Foong to learn more about the festival’s funky name and theme.
Foong explained that before they decided on a name, the project was referred to as ‘The Other Kuching Fest’, a name which many of the then-incoming content providers objected to vehemently.
When the subject came up at one of their meetings, WAK 2017 festival coordinator Donald Tan suggested that a possible name was ‘Walkabout Kuching’, since all venues will be within walking distance.
“The other side of the table heard him say ‘What About Kuching’,” said Foong.
This name turned out to be a better fit. After some further tweaking, it was simplified to ‘About Kuching’.
“With ‘About Kuching’ as the base, we can play with the phrase and put other words in front - Sketch About Kuching, Talk About Kuching, and so on,” said Foong.
“The theme logo this year was done by Marcos Kueh, a graphic designer. We told him the festival is for everyone - all genres and different groups. His idea was to base it on a collection of patterns drawn from Sarawakian motifs,” she said.
As a result, the theme for the first ever WAK 2017 is an eyecatching burst of bright colours on traditional patterns.
What About Kuching (WAK) 2017 celebrates the arts, cultures and lifestyles of the people of Kuching by creating a platform to share talent.The month-long event from Sept 30 to Oct 29 will encompass every genre from visual to performing arts, traditional to contemporary arts and exhibitions to outdoor pursuits.
WAK 2017 is open to more parties joining them. Send in your proposals to info@aboutkuching.com.
For updates, like WAK 2017 on Facebook at http://www.fb.com/ aboutkuching or follow them on Instagram at @aboutkuching. Check out the hashtags #WAK2017 and #aboutkuching. Their website is aboutkuching.com.