A scene from Malaysian director James Lee's indie feature 'Call If You Need Me' (2009), starring Pete Teo (far right) and Sunny Pang (middle). The movie will be screened at the Canto Yay mini festival at the Fono venue in the Zhongshan Building in KL on Oct 21. Photo: Da Huang Pictures
The Zhongshan Building in Kuala Lumpur is serving up a brand-new mini arts festival celebrating Cantonese popular and underground culture on Oct 21, organised by Payung Attap collective.
For one day only, the Canto Yay festival will host a programme of music, talks, workshops, screenings, art exhibitions, and an outdoor market during the day, followed by live musical performances at night.
The mini festival, hosted by Zhongshan Building's tenants, explores the influences of Cantonese culture and its expressions in Malaysia and the wider diaspora, working with artists and collaborators from the many Cantonese-language subculture scenes in Kuala Lumpur.
It wouldn’t be a Zhongshan Building festival without art, and this time there will be three exhibitions to explore throughout the building. At The Changing Room, an art exhibition titled The Lyric, The Spray Can And The Brush will showcase works by four eclectic artists from Hong Kong, namely Canto-pop lyricist Lin Xi, graffiti artist MC Yan, visual artist Oscan Chan Yik Long and calligraphy artist Chui Pui Chee.
Chinese calligraphy artist Ong Chia Koon will be hosting a showcase of his works, and also a workshop. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong
Over on the next block at Unit 80A, calligraphy artist Ong Chia Koon will be hosting a showcase of his calligraphy works. One floor above at Unit 80B, you can explore the 1990s-era in Cantonese films through T-shirts with Cantotee: A Movie-Themed Tees exhibition, organised by Douglas Ho and Piu Piu Piu cafe.
For those interested in machine learning or modern updates of traditional mediums, visit The Back Room, where Ho will also facilitate a Cantonese couplet composition workshop using ChatGPT that will be accompanied by a calligraphy demonstration of selected couplet compositions by Ong.
Contemporary artist Hoo Fan Chon will be talking about his 2021 solo exhibition The World Is Your Restaurant and the influence of Chinese banquet culture on his art practice, while Dr Kau Kun Chui will dive deep into Cantonese cuisine with a talk on “What’s The Best Way To Make Soup? – Exploring Cantonese Soup Culture And Chicken Varieties”. Both talks will take place at the Malaysia Design Archive located in the Zhongshan Building.
Lin Xi's poetic verses explore love and life amidst socio-political landscapes, representing Cantopop's mainstream. Visitors can view his works in 'The Lyric, the Spray Can And The Brush' group exhibition at The Changing Room. Photo: Handout
If the variations of soup alone are enough to make your head spin, wait till you go deep into the nuances of the Cantonese language. Explore how Cantonese resonates in our own national language with the talk, “When Lingua Francas Meet: Learning Malay Through Cantonese”, presented by artist and academic Tan Zi Hao at Fono.
For lovers of wuxia literature by Jin Yong, do check out the literary discussion group organised by vintage bookshop Balai Buku Raya titled Lembar Buku Pedang Rancung: Mengenang Karya-Karya Jin Yong Di Kalangan Pembaca Bukan Berbahasa Cina. It will explore the popularity and works of Chinese novelist Jin Yong among non-Chinese language readers. The talk will be presented in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Demonstrations on popular Chinese games offer some lighthearted fun for friends and family, including classes on playing pai gow and mahjong at Screw the Box space in the Zhongshan Building Annexe.
Artist Hoo Fan Chon will talk about his solo exhibition, 'The World is Your Restaurant', where he looked at the Chinese banquet service as a site for convivial social interactions while also serving as a stage to declare social status and express class aspirations. Photo: Handout
Performances and film screenings include Call If You Need Me, a 2009 Canto feature directed by James Lee and presented by award-winning independent production house Da Huang Pictures, and Ying Mat Yeh, a conversational performance about photography and typography in Hong Kong presented by Huruf type collective.
At the outdoor market, browse through the offerings of cultural vendors like Star Leaf Books, Sun Khiew Vintage and Show You Pink. And if your stomach starts to rumble, you can get your fill of Hong Kong polo buns, egg tarts, Hong Kong-style milk tea and more, as the F&B vendors will be bringing the best of Cantonese cuisine (and some Malaysian adaptations), including Wild Man Chairing Club, Papasan Canteen and Piukee Shoten.
Live music performances at Kantata will close out the mini festival, starting from 8pm, featuring Malaysia’s very own Dametrill, the alias for Adam Bahtiar Mohamad Zamray, who raps in a mix of Cantonese, Bahasa Malaysia and English, and DJ Typo D, who will be taking the decks with a selection of Hong Kong hip hop and disco.
Most events during the daytime portion of the festival (noon-8pm) are free to attend and participate, though some will require pre-registration. More info here.
