The National Art Gallery (NAG) in Kuala Lumpur has announced in a statement today that the Kuala Lumpur Biennale 2020 (KUL Biennale 2020) has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the ensuing public health concerns in the coming months.
KUL Biennale was supposed to open in September and run until February 2021. The KUL Biennale 2020 is a partnership between the NAG and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB). The “KUL” in its name comes from the airport code for Kuala Lumpur.
"With a heavy heart, the National Art Gallery has made the decision to cancel the KUL Biennale 2020. Due to public health concerns, this decision had to be made," says Amerrudin Ahmad, National Art Gallery director.
The cancellation of KUL Biennale 2020 is also in line with the Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) ministry's decision to cancel the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign on March 18.
KUL Biennale 2020's main exhibition was supposed be held at the NAG, with numerous exhibitions and programmes held concurrently in other locations around the city.
At press time, it is not known whether the KUL Biennale will be held next year.
KUL Biennale 2020 is the second major arts event in the country to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On March 12, the organisers of the George Town Festival in Penang announced the cancellation of this year's festival.
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