Kuala Lumpur, 19 October 2019 – Today, Yang Berhormat Tuan Haji Khalid Bin Abdul Samad joined local artists and Malaysians for a feast of visual, live performances and art delight under Art In The City – a joint collaboration between Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA) and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL). As part of its continuous efforts to raise greater awareness on the vibrant Malaysian arts and culture scene while making art more accessible to the public, Art In The City’s second edition kicked off to much fanfare celebrating 3 site-specific commissioned art installations by Malaysian artists, special screening of video competition, Lucky Pao Market, public art forum and workshop as well as fringe activities which collectively promoted the diverse artistic, creativity, compassion and imagination of Malaysian talents. Themed ‘I heART KL’, the AITC 2019 activities commenced on 18 October 2019 and will end on 27 October 2019.

Officiated by the Federal Territories Minister, Y. B. Khalid Abd Samad was invited to have a walk through with three artists Filamen, Joshua Teo and Pamela Tan and curator Snow Ng, starting from the Masjid Jamek lookout point to the River of Life where the public art are located, followed by a visitation to the Lucky Pao Market, a curated market space at Jalan Raja, where Y.B, Khalid Abd Samad also spent time talking to the visitors who attended the programmes.

Y.B. Khalid Abd Samad said, “Art In The City is a great effort to celebrate our nation’s artists – it is a gateway which connects the urban public spaces to the discovery of our local talents and the vibrancy of our beautiful Kuala Lumpur city. It is essential to fuel and complement our national efforts as well as provide a strong support to the growing cultural and creative economy. My well wishes are for the campaign to achieve great success and continue to inspire the nation to push the envelope with the arts.”

“The arts and culture sector is a highly transformative driver that promotes human-centred urbanisation enabling opportunities for growth, soft power, social cohesion and inclusivity. It is an area where the Government of Malaysia supports, where work is resilient, where jobs are based on qualities and values that technology will never mimic – creativity and imagination. Therefore strategic programmes like Art In The City, a campaign that covers all facets of the arts which CENDANA supports – Visual Art, Independent Music and Performing Arts are important. The core objective is to make arts more assessible to the public, enabling Malaysians to see arts from a different perspective and further engage its activities. Tak Kenal maka tak cinta. We are trying to shift this”, said Izan Satrina, Founding CEO of CENDANA.

PUBLIC SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION PROGRAMME

Following an open call for public art in June to find the best artistic proposal to keep the city’s vibrancy charged, the final artists public art submission are available along the River of Life from 18 October 2019 until February 2020. Besides site-specific activations, there will be workshops conducted by the artists in conjunction with their commission period.

A Public Art Workshop was conducted by Aisyah Baharuddin an Interdisciplinary artist and social activist based in Batu Pahat, Johor. She is deeply involved in the development of Contemporary Art in Malaysia since 2004. And Singapore artist Lim Soo Ngee, whose approach to sculpture is immensely intimate, musing over the different relationships between humanity, the environment and society. 

I heART KL VIDEO COMPETITION

With a goal to celebrate the multitude of creativity, CENDANA launched a video competition to invite Malaysians to present an interesting narrative of what makes Kuala Lumpur unique through the lens of arts and culture. After highly competitive rounds of voting process by the public, four contestants emerged to walk away with a total of RM8,000 cash prizes. The winners are:-

LUCKY PAO MARKET

Jalan Raja was transformed into a creative marketplace to bring the historic landscape of Kuala Lumpur to life with surprises, feel-good moments and unforgettable experiences for the public. Lucky Pao is a gathering of artisans featuring local crafts, creations, artworks as well as the best local music performances like Kyoto Protocol, Johny Comes Lately, Bihzhu and Nadir, in addition to community activations. On top of that, it was a feast of senses, with popular street food, delicacies and market stalls.

TIME, PLACE AND CHALLENGES: A PUBLIC ART FORUM

During the duration of AITC 2019, a series of forum and workshops will be organised to discuss about the role of arts and culture in public spaces with best practices and experiences within the country, regionally and internationally.

The forum is held on 20 October from 10am - 5pm, featuring Nani Kahar, Dr Rosli Zakaria, Tetawowe Atelier, Aisyah Baharuddin, Lim Soo Ngee (Singapore), Ahmad Khairudin (Indonesia), Snow Ng and moderated by Pang Khee Teik.

A two-day Public Art Workshop will also be taking place on 21-22 October 2019 from 10am - 6pm.

Both programmes took place at RUANG, Think City.

OTHER FRINGE ACTIVITIES

Walking / Gallery Tours on 18 – 27 Oct 2019: Curated tours in collaboration with The Art Seni to highlight other art exhibitions and shows happening around Kuala Lumpur. Sign up for Art In The City Walking Tour at a minimal fee and join the tour from 10-11am, 5-6pm and 6-7pm on 19 October 2019. The curated tours by The Art Seni Tour will be available for booking until January 2020. To register, please contact Aza at +6017 330 0012.