XXVI 15 Hakahau, Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands French Polynesia, 2016, Jimmy Nelson
A member of the Orang Ulu tribe playing a keluri, an instrument comprised of bamboo pipes
Dance 6 & 8, from choreographer Tao Ye’s ‘Straight Line Trilogy’ series Tess Said So performing a live score to FW Murnau’s vampire movie, Nosferatu
1 0 min u t e s wit h . . .
Joe Sidek
TALE O F TWO
The director of George Town Festival and Rainforest Fringe Festival stands somewhere between the lines of wisdom and madness. Endowed with a gargantuan heart and lighthouse-sweeping vision, he is gentle, indefatigable, and endlessly inspired.
FESTIVALS
A Simple Space by Gravity & Other Myths
As Penang’s George Town Festival returns for its eighth edition and the cultural Rainforest Fringe Festival debuts in Kuching, Shireen Zainudin delves into the celebration of local art, music, dance, and film. G e o r g e t o w n F e s t i va l
The George Town Festival returns for its eigth year, with this year’s edition primarily oriented towards the youth, community, and women. Hosting more than 100 shows with about 60 percent local participation, the programmes vary from art, design, photography, and film to music, dance, and drama. The month-long George Town Festival 2017 looks forward to transforming George Town into a universal stage where differing spectrums of art—from traditional to contemporary, local to international—converge. look out for ...
Local artists Adibah Noor and Sean Ghazi, mezzo-soprano Anchee from Thailand, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Gus Teja from Indonesia, and the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra in Svara ASEAN, a musical tribute to Southeast Asian artists. g Award-winning Indian theatre director Roysten Abel returning with The Manganiyar Classroom, a musical that showcases 35 village children on a four-row bench terrace on stage, spontaneously singing and dancing. g Director Naohiko Umewaka and choreographer Aida Redza present The Italian Restaurant. The story emerges from a chance meeting of a woman and a man in a restaurant. Destinies are forged and hearts are entwined. g Week on Women, which is dedicated to women who have contributed to the art scene. Curated in collaboration with ZafigoX, a website founded by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, the week’s line-up consists of talks, workshops, and a bazaar. g The Human Voice, starring Sue Lankester, where a telephone is the painful divide between two lovers. This monologue studies a person’s need for connection and the insecurities from lost love and loneliness. g Chicago-based Voyeur Theatre Collective’s multimedia performance event Next Level. Combining aspects of rave culture, cinema, and performance art, this production innovates and revitalises the theatrical art form, expanding its appeal to non-traditional audiences. VTC’s work is celebratory and selfcritical, immersive and digital, but always unflinchingly intimate. From July 28 to September 3 in George Town, Penang. www.georgetownfestival.com
Ikat, a show focused on the movements of people’s daily life, by Artism
Hakanaï by Adrien M and Claire B, a digital solo dance that combines video projection mapping and CGI
photography: Courtesy of George town Festival; Courtesy of Rainforest Fringe Festival; Marco Feklistoff, CHRIS HERZFELD
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R a infor e st What excites you? What makes you say yes? F r i n g e F e s t i va l People, places, and stories. It starts with trust and respect for For the first time ever, the 20-year-old someone asking me to undertake a project that inspires me. I enjoy Rainforest World Music Festival was the human connection with people who respond to the work. preceded by the Rainforest Fringe Should contemporary art be about Festival in Kuching from July 7 to 16. the hype? The area surrounding the Kuching No, I was once introduced to a contemporary dancer with a huge Old Courthouse was transformed following and allowed myself to be persuaded about a piece that was a hard sell for an untrained audience. This was early on and we into a space celebrating the very sold very few tickets. Now, I follow my instincts. The connection best of Sarawak’s culture, heritage, between you and the piece is what matters. It’s subjective and and people, with unique layers of everyone should respond to it from a personal perspective. art, nature, history, traditions, as well What would you consider as cultures referencing the famous necessary extravagance? Sarawak kek lapis. Making everything accessible to ordinary people. Spending the funds to make post-festival highlights: the festivals come to life for a bigger g Dayang Nurfaizah, Mathew Ngau Jau, community means a lot to me. It’s always and Tony Eusoff, among others performed about you, me, and us. at Sada Kamek: Music of Sarawak, an What are/were the evening concert featuring an eclectic mix of highlights for GTF and Sarawakian talent. RFF this year? g Tom Abang Saufi, Tanoti, Neng Kho Joe Sidek Everything! The community, the youth, the Razali, and Edric Ong participated in Sarawak: ASEAN perspective, the Japanese participation, Theatre of Clothes, a fashion gala showcasing the women’s programme, and even the smaller pieces from their latest collections. Raphael Scott Ahbeng spoke Ong Shunmugam exclusively unveiled its programmes. It’s very people-centric this year and that makes about Sarawak’s vast landscapes latest collection in a collaboration with pua everything special. With the Rainforest Fringe Festival, the with his artworks kumbu artisans. programmes just happened—ideas flowed, people came forward g Anke Degenhard presented Before They with collections and private treasure troves ... Sarawak is rich in Pass Away, a talk that took us through Jimmy indigenous culture, fashion, music, photography, and local crafts. Laki Balo, 2015, Nelson’s magnificent photo exhibition that Alena Murang And then there are the fantastic food and magnificent nature that showed how he spent 31 years collating make Sarawak unique. It’s a very special place and this was reflected portraits of tribal and indigenous people in RFF. around the world. www.rainforestfringe.com What are the similarities and differences with both festivals? Researcher Kendy Mitot’s art featured Both George Town and Kuching are fascinating places. RFF is symbols of the Bidayuh tribe very much a showcase for local material. We’re creating a space to celebrate the fabric of society, nature, architecture, and people. Penang appeals to a different crowd, with room for both local and foreign works. Tell us about your directorial debut this year. I’m directing Sue Lankester in Jean Cocteau’s seminal play The Human Voice. I’m terrified but I think the piece is in good hands with Sue. I’m finally ticking this off my bucket list. Come watch, will you?
HARPER’S BAZAAR ART
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