GEORGE TOWN BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR ASIAN FESTIVALS
The giant metallic tripods placed in front of the Dewan Sri Pinang event hall in George Town, the capital of Penang, looks like a single line of eerie cranes in the soft evening light. Atop the structures are rotating arms equipped with loudspeakers and a set of lights at each end.
Just before sun sets, the arms start spinning above the heads of many curious spectators, emitting a hypnotic siren call of precisely tuned musical pitches, while drawing mesmerising red circles in the air. This is not science fiction, but “Chorus”, an art installation mixing kinetic sculptures with a choir of sound machines. Created by award-winning British composer Ray Lee, it arrived in Penang as part of the eighth George Town Festival, one of Asia’s most acclaimed international arts festivals.
“I thought that only children would like ‘Chorus,’” said Joe Sidek, the festival’s director. Dressed in a traditional Malay tunic and a black songkok (skullcap), he originally hails from the southern Malaysian state of Johor, but since age nine has lived in Penang. Before becoming the island’s main art patron and entrepreneur, he ran his family’s chemical factory.
This year, the six-week-long festival kicked that ended yesterday featured a programme of international shows and performances ranging from photo exhibitions to art installations, from cutting-edge music to theatre and dance.
Having evolved steadily since it was first staged in 2010, the festival has helped cement George Town’s reputation as one of the most vibrant art hubs in Southeast Asia. And it has made its mark on the whole country. For example, the famous wall murals by the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, which kickstarted Malaysia’s infatuation with street art, were originally commissioned by Sidek in 2012.
“It was a good experience and very instrumental in attracting the world’s attention to George Town, but I wouldn’t do it again,” Sidek told the Nikkei Asian Review. “I prefer not repeating myself, and would rather move forward, always exploring new ways of creativity.”
The festival, which was partly sponsored by the Penang state government, cost about 8 million ringgit (US$1.86 million) to organise. Keeping Malaysia’s arty heart pumping, however, is no easy task.
“Sometimes I lose money, and it’s always hard to get enough sponsors and break even. That’s the risk one takes when trying to keep the majority of events free of charge,” said Sidek, whose mandate as the George Town Festival’s curator will end in 2020.
Of the 27 million or so international travellers that Tourism Malaysia says visited the country in 2016, most are drawn to Penang because of its Unesco World Heritage designation and its wide-ranging offering of artistic events. The festival has been pivotal in fostering Penang’s fame as a vibrant Asian arts hub, attracting proposals from prominent international artists.
“We received around 300 proposals this year, of which the majority were foreign, but I don’t make distinctions. I decide based on each show’s value,” noted Sidek, adding that he was now focused on promoting the richness of Southeast Asian arts and crafts to the world.
Indeed, this year the festival had a more regional flavour. It kicked off with “Svara Asean”, a convergence of Southeast Asian musicians such as the award-winning Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Penang Philarmonic Orchestra and Jazz band, the Balinese flautist Gus Teja, the Thai mezzo-soprano Anchee, and the Malaysian actor and singer Adhiba Noor.
In the same opening weekend, besides an Asean Design Forum and MacamMacam Asean — a two-day food, arts and craft pop-up market enlivened by Star Wars- inspired Kelantan shadow puppets and Hokkien glove puppetry performances — there were international artists and guests, including the Amsterdam-based British photographer Jimmy Nelson.
Nelson, the author of the highly controversial photo book Before They Pass Away, which portrays choreographed shots of some of the world’s most exotic tribes, was in Penang to conduct a workshop and open a month-long exhibition.
Among other international highlights was a production of the Indian musical, The Manganiyar Classroom, by Roysten Abel; the Australian acrobatics show A Simple Space; the French-Japanese choreographic dance performance Hakanai; the Southeast Asian premiere of the physical drama 6 & 8 by Tao Dance Theater Group from China; a joint Malaysian-Japanese Noh theatre production called The Italian Restaurant; plus potehi glove puppets and folk music from Taiwan, as well as many other exhibitions and shows by local artists.
Also noteworthy were the permanent art exhibits enlivening several of coastal George Town’s heritage buildings, such as the Whiteaways Arcade. “Character Types” by Penang-based Goh Hun Meng and Gareth Richards, for example, celebrates the typography of the different languages spoken in Penang, and the way it blends with the character of the island’s multiethnic population.
“GTF has grown into a very committed art festival,” said Goh, 45, in the refurbished Beach Street shophouse that houses his works. “Sidek made great efforts to connect arts from Penang and the world, helping us locals reach out to a bigger audience, and broadening our vision by working together with international artists.”
Art exchange is also at the base of “Space in Time”, a collection of over 50 works by women from South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States.
“GTF has evolved and become more inclusive over the years, but I still feel that not enough is being invested in local content,” said Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson, one of the participating Penang-based artists.
“It is still the ‘celebrity’ events that capture the media and the best venues, and I’m still fighting the feeling that, although a lot has been put into the GTF, the local content is just left to happen on its own after approvals, and it’s not accorded the time, effort and attention needed to really find its voice.
“We need locals to go ‘wow’ at what is here, because we have great talent and voices in George Town, and they deserve more. In particular, more space to women.”
Sidek has a different opinion: “One of my staff told me that she will soon get rid of me to take my place as curator. It’s exactly the kind of passion I’m looking for when scouting for collaborators and acts, and I still believe that many Penang-based artists lack this level of courage and focus,” he said.