Online documentary: Remembering The Champions of Baba Nyonya Culture in Penang
Date and time: Available on Facebook
Here's a chance to discover the heritage and culture of Penang's Baba Nyonya community in an online documentary from The Penang House of Music's "Roots" series co-produced with ethnomusicologist Prof Tan Sooi Beng.
George Town-based Tan, also one of the leading authorities on the performing arts in South-East Asia, hosts the programme as she revisits Penang's Baba Nyonya story with a narrative thread spanning arts, history, performances, music and fashion.
How did Baba Nyonya culture evolve in Penang? This video illustrates the changes in the costumes, performing arts and paintings of the Baba Nyonya on the island with original data from old newspaper advertisements, gramophone recordings and video clips.
This online documentary was also part of the Penang Peranakan festival last month.
More info here.
Online Short Film: Jun Ong's installation 'STAR/ KL'
Date and time: Instagram
STAR KL is a light installation by artist Jun Ong that is currently showing at arts venue The Godown in KL until late March. The exhibition attempts to recreate the physics of a star using a steel core and acrylic light tubes to shine light inside its space and leaks out into the surrounding buildings.
In a short film/documentary on his Instagram, Ong shares how his STAR/KL project took shape and how it has incorporated The Godown building as part of a unique viewing experience for visitors. Those who cannot make it for the on-site show in KL can learn more about STAR/KL from the video.
More info here.
Online music: Verses Music Ensemble: Healing - Cycle of Emotions
Date and time: Available on Youtube
Relive the festive spirit with a mini showcase by the VerSeS Music Ensemble, which was recorded at the Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur recently. With the art gallery as the backdrop, the musicians performed seven classical songs from composers such as Henry Purcell, Gregorio Allegri, Francis Poulenc and Bach.
In this 30-minute performance of "healing" music", viewers can look forward to a combination of choral, instrumental, and orchestral works.
The VerSeS line-up featured Wong Ming Ling (soprano solo), Darrel Chan (countertenor solo), YS Tang (classical guitar), Dr Yi-Li Chang (viola da gamba).
More info here.
ONLINE STORIES: YOMU: Asian Literary Project
Date and time: Available online
“YOMU” is an online literary project whose objective is to communicate how Asia is doing “now,” in the midst of the pandemic, by introducing a series of short stories and essays from writers in South-East Asia.
The project, presented by Japan Foundation, KL in Malaysia, spotlights four local writers (Nadia Khan, Terence Toh, Li Zhi Shu,and M. Navin). In "YOMU", they share stories written in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese, and Tamil respectively. Each story, with translations available in selected languages, sheds light on the hardships of everyday people surviving through the aftermath of the pandemic.
These short stories, edited by publisher/author/filmmaker Amir Muhammad, can be read online.
More info here.
Online documentary:
Date and time: Available on YouTube
In this Wei-Ling Gallery series, contemporary artist Cheong Kiet Cheng shares about her experience of being in Japan under the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum residency programme, as the recipient of the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year Malaysia Award. It was through this opportunity that she developed her line drawing technique, defining it as a meditative experience.
As an artist, Cheong embraces change and progress throughout her creative process. In a new series, which she started creating in 2020, Cheong shifted her approach to watercolour, inspired by the vibrant culture and landscape of India, a country that she recently travelled to.
More info here.
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