Marking history
Malaysia Design Archive wins the grand prize for culture at Hong Kong’s Design For Asia awards.
MALAYSIA Design Archive (MDA), an online digital repository on Malaysian visual culture, has been announced as the winner of the Grand Award for Culture in the prestigious DFA Design for Asia Awards.
The DFA Awards, organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre, aims to raise awareness about the value of good design as an essential component of the improvement of the quality and vibrancy of life in Asia.
This year, it recognises over 200 creative talents and innovative design projects with this potential.
“We are both surprised and honoured to have been selected as a winner for this prize. It speaks to us about the support from the community, as well as a recognition of design and visual culture as significant sites for socio-cultural engagement that can have wide, and potentially transformative, impact. This is a great achievement to us,” says Jac SM Kee, one of the founding members of MDA.
MDA, started in 2008, was borne out of the idea that art and design are not just about aesthetics, but carry meanings and values communicated in a particular space and time.
“Art and design play a significant role in communicating values and representation of the current context– in terms of what matters, who we prioritise, what is visible or not, and the lines of history that are embedded within this. If we spend some time understanding these different layers of art and design, we can also begin to understand where we come from, and what are some of the issues, challenges and possibilities, through engagement and creation,” says Kee.
Visual culture is all around us, with visual communication a big part of our lives, and MDA’s site (www.malaysiadesignarchive.org) has become a go-to for scholars, designers, artists and the general public who are looking for inspiration and critical reflections on how design is intricately linked with our evolving history.
In March this year, the team set up an open and collaborative resource and archive centre in Kuala Lumpur through support from membership and a modest grant. The centre at Zhongshan building in Kuala Lumpur is their first physical space.
“We envision this as a space where designers, researchers, artists, kids and anyone interested in design and visual arts can walk in, find out more about visual culture and its intersection with politics and history, browse through the material we have collected, learn archival skills, share their ideas, participate in workshops and community activities, and organise related events – with the aim of deepening the interest in this area,” Kee explains.
MDA’s journey is a long one and the team hopes that the this DFA Award win is the beginning of something big for similar projects.
“We hope that winning the DFA Award signals more support for initiatives such as MDA, which centres on public engagement and collaborative effort,” she concludes.