Front Row

Launched in 2016, Singapore-based ArtsEquator is one of the few - if not only - media platforms that cover arts and culture in Southeast Asia. In the short time since its inception, the platform has garnered much praise for its arts coverage and long-form criticism. However, with its seed grant coming to an end, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, financial support has dried up, and ArtsEquator faces the prospect of closure - unless they manage to raise enough to stay afloat. We speak with ArtsEquator’s co-founder and managing director Kathy Rowland, and editor Nabilah Said, about the work they’ve done so far, their fundraising campaign, and why it’s essential to have robust, independent arts media in Southeast Asia.

Image Source: ArtsEquator 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this exhibition, Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice serves as the inspiration for artworks that take on a decidedly modern and Asian air, with a focus on facial expressions and body language. We speak with the artist, Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj, about why he was drawn to this literary theme, and what it has to say about today.

Image Source: Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysian artist Anurendra Jegadeva is currently living in Melbourne, Australia, and has spent the last 6 months in lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic - an apt time to create a series of paintings that look at the global pandemic and how we deal with it, personally, socially, and politically. Featuring paintings of dynamic figures in gas masks, isolated individuals, and mundane domestic details, Anurendra’s series dwells on the feelings and dilemmas of this current point in time. We speak with him about his current exhibition, named “Scream Inside Your Heart - New Paintings from Solitary Confinement”.

Image Source: Anurendra Jegadeva

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though conceived before the global pandemic, Louise Low’s exhibition “Mass Against Mass” seems apt for our current time, with its themes of individual actions, collective influence, and how the both are intertwined. Using painted images and collages, Low’s works focus on faces and facial expressions, to contemplate on what it means to be free within a society. We speak with Low to find out more about her works and her artistic process.

Image Source: Suma Orientalis / Louise Low

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Textile arts are often associated largely with traditional crafts like batik or weaving. Contemporary textile art practices, however, go far beyond this to encompass both the heritage of the form, while also innovating and using them to engage with current cultural and sociopolitical concerns. An exhibition called Common Threads looks at how the art form is evolving in Malaysia, and regardless of whether the works are embroidered, woven, stitched, pinned, knotted, or stretched. We speak with two of the show’s featured artists, Iona Danald and Marcos Kueh, about how contemporary textile arts are telling stories of today.

Image Source: The Black Room

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the many industries hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order has been the arts - with public events, gatherings, and opportunities for travel being limited, many arts practitioners have been struggling to both create art and to make a living. This situation is further exacerbated in Sabah and Sarawak, where the lack of access, connectivity, and accessibility affects life beyond just the arts sphere. As we honour Malaysia Day 2020, we learn how the pandemic has impacted arts practitioners in Sabah and Sarawak, by speaking with The Tuyang Initiative co-founder Juvita Tatan Wan, and Emmanuel Chee, former president, Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Image Source: The Tuyang Initiative & George Yong

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Theatre for Young People (T4YP) programme by Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) has been around since 2008, and has trained and mentored 153 young theatre practitioners over the years. During a year that has been particularly difficult for theatremakers, KLPac is providing a platform for the programme’s alumni, by staging a show that taps into what they have learnt, and allows them to create their own work. Called T4YP Emergence 2020: Love & Loss, the show presents eight short theatre pieces that each explore themes of love and loss. We speak to two of the T4YP alumni who are involved, Narmatha Shanmugam and Adam Hamizan.

Image Source: Theatre for Young People (T4YP)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The past year has been a period of reflection and introspection for many of us, and artist Peisy Ting is no exception. She was ready to debut her solo art exhibition earlier in the year, only to have it postponed for months due to the Movement Control Order. But in many ways, her exhibition, titled Transcendence – A Visual Exploration of Self, seems more fitting now than ever. We speak with Peisy about being a self-trained artist, and what she has learnt about making art through a decidedly difficult year. 

Image Source: Peisy Ting

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even three decades after his death, American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s legacy in the contemporary art world continues to resonate, thanks to his unique approach to art and the powerful themes of social justice. This year, 2020, would have been his 60th birthday, and Artemis Art gallery is celebrating Basquiat by having two shows honouring his works and legacy. The first is called Conversation with Basquiat, and features Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino and Taiwanese artists responding to his legacy. We speak with Artemis Art’s curator and co-owner Jamal al-Idrus, to find out more.

Image Source: Chang Chiung Fang

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to the world of theatre, plays by women are still under-represented - both globally and here in Malaysia. In places like the UK and US, it is estimated that only a quarter of theatre productions being staged are written by women. And tellingly, many plays by women are not even known to most audiences or in some cases, theatremakers. So in a quest to correct this imbalance, local theatre company Panas Panas Theatre has started on a project called the Women’s Play Marathon, with the goal of reading 50 plays by women by the end of 2020. We speak with the company’s co-founder Hana Nadira, and its artistic director Arief Hamizan.

Image Source: Panas Panas Theatre

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.