Azzah Sultan, a New York-based contemporary artist, is back in town to open her solo exhibition 'Dah Makan Kah?' at Rissim Contemporary in Kuala Lumpur this weekend. Photo: Rissim Contemporary
EXHIBITION: AZZAH SULTAN'S 'DAH MAKAN KAH?'
VENUE: RISSIM CONTEMPORARY, KUALA LUMPUR
Date: Aug 19 to Sept 10
New York-based artist Azzah Sultan is back in town to open her solo exhibition Dah Makan Kah? at Rissim Contemporary in Bangsar. It is her first show in Malaysia.
What can viewers expect? Definitely a heartfelt series of new works from this talented artist, who has also exhibited in shows in the United States.
Oil painting and batik fabric techniques are the mediums used in the Dah Makan Kah? exhibition.
Throughout the show, Azzah delves into the nuanced realm of family dynamics as revealed through culinary traditions; taking us through the process of acquiring ingredients from local markets, preparing food, and the act of sharing a meal, while drawing our attention to the colours, textures, and shapes involved.
This deeply rooted tradition acts as a symbol for Asian family dynamics, as well as Azzah’s personal meditation on her identity and heritage.
More info here.
Syahnan Anuar's first solo exhibition 'Potret Diri' at The Back Room Gallery in KL features 15 works, including his new series 'Awas'. Photo: The Star/Maria Ibrahim
EXHIBITION: SYAHNAN ANUAR'S 'PORTRET DIRI'
Venue: The Back Room, KL
Date: Aug 19-27
Portret Diri is a mini-showcase of recent works by printmaker Syahnan Anuar, who is mostly known as the founder of Bogus Merchandise, a silkscreen production company. The exhibition collects a selection of Syahnan’s recent works since 2018, establishing him as a visual artist in his own right.
The works reflect upon the artist’s various identities: as a son, the seventh child in a family of 10, as the head of a company, a Malay Muslim man, and as a young person living in a Malaysia built in the shadow of Mahathir’s Vision 2020. Featuring the artist’s own parents and national authority forces as subjects, the showcase reflects the intractability of the personal from the political in the artist’s lived experience.
Featured in the exhibition are works from the Awas series (2023), Demonstrasi Demokrasi (2021) which alludes to the Lawan protest at Dataran Merdeka in 2021 during the Covid-19 lockdown, and a few of Syahnan’s earliest works as an artist.
More info here.
A scene from 'True Love Waits: Radiohead Tribute' - an experimental choral and multimedia show - which is part of the Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival this weekend. Photo: The Star/Kamarul Ariffin
YAYASAN SIME DARBY ARTS FESTIVAL
Venue: KLPac
Date: Aug 19 and 20
Missed the noisy drum circles, open park spaces and pop-up theatre? They are all coming back real soon!
This weekend, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) is readying up a big welcome for the masses once again (doors open 11am) with the return of the Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival (YSDAF), an event that has been put on hold for nearly five years.
With more than 350 arts events planned, there is bound to be a long checklist of fun activities for the entire family, with the KLPac main building and outdoor areas set to come to life.
The festival is free admission and the line-up of performing arts, theatre, music, dance, workshops, puppetry, film screenings and more look set to give visitors a sampling of contemporary arts and culture in the Klang Valley.
A crowd of nearly 20,000 is expected at KLPac this weekend, and festivalgoers are advised to use public transportation.
The YSDAF organisers have arranged a shuttle service to get the masses to the festival area.
More info here.
A general view of the cartoon exhibition ‘Seiring Sejalan’ at the Fahrenheit88 mall in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Bernama
EXHIBITION: ‘SEIRING SEJALAN' MALAYSIAN CARTOON ART
Venue: Fahrenheit88, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Sept 30
Themed "We Are Greater Together", the Seiring Sejalan cartoon exhibition is jointly organised by the National Archives of Malaysia (ANM), Fahrenheit88 and Rumah Kartun dan Komik Malaysia in conjunction with this year’s Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day celebration.
The exhibition features more than 60 artworks, namely cartoons, comics, caricatures, and animation produced by 50 local artists, including Datuk Lat, Ujang, Mie, David Sundra and Lefty Julian.
Also at the exhibit is a showcase of a collection of cover pages from vintage cartoon and comic magazines in Malaysia such as Batu Api, Buletin Lubok, Politik Kedai Kopi and many others.
Those more into animation can also enjoy the exhibit’s local animation room which features artwork and figures from renowned local cartoons like Usop Sontorian, Anak-Anak Sidek, Keluang Man, Awang Kenit and RoboZeta.
The (free admission) exhibition, from 10am to 10pm, also offers various exciting activities every weekend, such as a flea market, ‘Sembang Santai’ with experienced cartoonists, and a cartoon and comic drawing workshop.
'Amma Chellam', which is written by Arjun (left) and directed by Visshnu, is showing at DPAC this weekend. Photo: Anomalist Production/screengrab
THEATRE: 'AMMA CHELLAM'
Venue: DPAC, Petaling Jaya
Date: ends Aug 20
Theatre play Amma Chellam, presented by Anomalist Production, offers the coming-of-age story of 16-year-old Ajay, who must learn to accept his own identity without losing the one person who matters most to him; his mother.
The show, which playing at DPAC in Petaling Jaya until Aug 20, spotlights the difficult yet underrepresented experience of growing up “different” in a Malaysian Indian family.
Written and performed in English and Tamil (with English surtitles included), Amma Chellam draws on real-life events and experiences to navigate tough conversations surrounding love, cultural conflicts, and parental expectations.
Writer and actor Arjun Thanaraju sees Amma Chellam is a long-awaited opportunity for Malaysian Indian theatre practitioners to take ownership of their own stories and share them with the wider local audience.
“We rarely see authentic Malaysian Indian stories on mainstream stages when in fact, we have so much to say. Plays like Amma Chellam give our community a voice to speak our truths,” he says.
Apart from Arjun, the play’s line-up includes Vicky N, Naveen Raja, Desmond and Tinesh Sarathi Krishnan.
The show is directed by Visshnu Varman and produced by Khairi Anwar (from Anomalist Production).
More info here.
