AUDIOVISUAL: TEKKA FESTIVAL
Venue: Pentas 2, KLPac
Date: Dec 19-21
KLPac makes its first foray into experimental audiovisual territory with the inaugural Tekka Festival, transforming the venue into a three-day playground of sonic exploration and digital artistry from Dec 19–21.
The debut edition features live performances, workshops, and collaborative sessions, offering audiences an immersive experience unlike a conventional festival.
“Tekka was born from a shared need to gather, listen and experiment. We didn’t aim to build a conventional festival, but rather a living audiovisual space,” explains Wee Jia Foong, festival co-founder and creative director.
Tekka offers a diverse line-up of regional and international artists. Day one features Pak Dain with Fusion Wayang Kulit, Aaru8 and Fairuz Sulaiman, Anis Haron, whereischappie (Taiwan), and Vasflow with Angqasa, combining rhythm, performance, and visual storytelling.
Day two (Dec 20) brings Cerikapak, Huang Wei (Taiwan), Mulan Theory with cr.telur, LnHD (Myanmar), and rEmPiT g0dDe$$, exploring experimental and immersive territories.
The festival closes on Dec 21 with Chang Hsin Yu (Taiwan), Euseng Seto with Bubu and Syed Muhammad, and Toru Izumida (Japan). Daytime TouchDesigner workshops and a dialogue session offer audiences deeper engagement with the artists.
In many ways, Tekka serves as a bold conclusion to KLPac’s 20th anniversary series, hinting at new directions and possibilities for the venue’s future in the arts.
More info here.
MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE: ‘ARTIVISM AT SEA’
Venue: Level 3, Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Dec 20, 7.30pm
What happens when a rogue’s gallery of artists, activists, and makers transform a rusted sailing ship into a floating cultural platform, to bring a live show to the most remote coastal communities of the world?
After touring around the world by sea onboard the 70-tonne ship Arka Kinari, multimedia duo Nova Ruth and Grey Filastine will step ashore in Kuala Lumpur to share a true story that is stranger than fiction.
Artivism At Sea is an intimate and thought-provoking performance combining narration, live music and cinematic documentary footage.
You’ll find out what happens behind the fences of seedy ports from Morocco to Mexico, be hosted by soldiers on a barren rock, and witness the bizarre legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific. You’ll also hear the challenges of touring a floating arts production in the world’s least charted waters, visit everywhere from mega-cities and stilt villages, and be hosted by sufi schools, punk collectives, and tribes of sea nomads.
Learn more about the adventures of the Arka Kinari crew and ask them your burning questions. Free admission event.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'CROSSING THE THIRD BRIDGE'
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Jan 24
Wei-Ling Gallery's Crossing The Third Bridge is a diverse group exhibition that looks at how identity shifts across time, distance and memory. It centres on the idea of Hua Qiao, a term once used for Chinese migrants from Qing China, and how its meaning continues to change across generations who are shaped less by migration itself and more by what is remembered, translated and inherited.
The exhibition brings together local artists, including Lee Mok Yee, Sean Lean, and Wong Chee Meng, as well as artists from across the region and beyond like Kenneth Tam (US), Ming Wong (Singapore), MM Yu (Philippines) and Tintin Wulia (Indonesia/Australia).
Working across installation, photography, moving image and performance, the artists reflect on family histories, cultural inheritance and contemporary life.
Some explore personal archives of absence or interiors filled with sentimental objects. Others trace emotions across generations, engage with Cantonese soap operas, or revive nearly lost linguistic forms.
For anyone interested in diaspora, cultural memory, and the subtle ways history shapes daily life, this exhibition offers an engaging, grounded experience.
More info here.
CONCERT: BAYANGAN
Venue: Live Fact, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya
Date: Dec 20, 9pm
Bayangan may be a solo project led by singer-songwriter Fikri Fadzil, but when he steps on stage with a full band, the music opens up into something richer and more expansive. To close out the year, Fikri is bringing the complete Bayangan band experience to the stage, guiding listeners through both familiar favourites and deeper cuts from his catalogue.
The Live Fact set will run for an hour, allowing space for the songs to breathe. Rooted in themes of self-discovery, human connection and life’s fleeting moments, Bayangan’s music invites listeners into a reflective space where vulnerability feels natural, and quiet introspection carries its own weight.
To add extra energy to the evening, opening act Solaris, an experimental noise band, will set the stage. Also, in the spirit of the festive season, the Bayangan merchandise bar will also be unveiling new items, including a cassette edition of the Dari Pinggiran EP - a must-have for collectors.
More info here.
MUSIC AND DANCE: BEATS & BRU SESSION 02: DECEMBER DHAMAKA
Venue: 22 Hub, Creative House, Petaling Jaya
Date: Dec 20
Beats & Bru Session returns with December Dhamaka at a nature-inspired house-turned-studio in Petaling Jaya –a space celebrating Indian culture through music, movement, and community.
Since July, the independent collective has created platforms blending dance, music, fashion, and shared experiences, including the recent Riuh x Asean festival.
Headlined by Santosh Logandran with deejays AKAY, Shaks, Shera, Kashy Kash, and TadBitSpicy, the session features Kuthu, Afrodesi, Baile Funk, Afro Tamil, and Bollyhouse, with live percussion from Sentul Tamilan Urumi Melam and DholHER.
Beyond music, enjoy a fire show, Silambam arts, a vision board, face art, and other surprises –designed for moving, watching, participating, and connecting.
The event starts at noon tomorrow.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'BUSANA: TRADITIONAL COSTUMES OF THE MALAY WORLD'
Venue: Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 12, 2026
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in Kuala Lumpur presents its year-end show Busana: Traditional Costumes of the Malay World, on display until April 12, 2026.
Reflecting a renewed local interest in baju kurung, kebaya, and baju Melayu, the exhibition spans Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, southern Thailand, and the Philippines, showcasing the richness of Malay dress. The revival gained momentum in 2023 when Unesco recognized the kebaya as a shared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
IAMM draws from its extensive textile collection to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship of these garments. Highlights include pieces from the late Tun Endon Mahmood, loaned by Yayasan Budi Penyayang, alongside complete ensembles with accessories — selendang (shawl), samping (waistcloth), and destar (headdress) — illustrating how attire reflects status, ceremony, and tradition.
Visitors can admire embroidery traditions from tekat emas to kelingkan, and the kebaya nyonya, blending Malay and Chinese influences with delicate lace and vibrant stitching. A dedicated section explores Islamic motifs, calligraphy, and geometric patterns, revealing the artistry and cultural depth of Malay textile heritage.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'SENTUL BIENNALE: TO OUR FRIENDS'
Venue: A+ Works of Art, D6 Trade Centre, Jalan Sentul, KL
Date: ends Dec 21
There is something invigorating about an art gallery willing to fold wit into its contemporary programme.
Sentul Biennale: To Our Friends at A+ Works of Art is currently on view until Dec 21, presenting over 150 works by 60 artists from nine countries across the region. The gallery space has been thoughtfully and wittily utilised, perfectly suiting the show’s irreverent spirit.
The exhibition - your last weekend to catch it - brings together a diverse mix of emerging and established artists working across various mediums, making it a remarkable feat of curation.
The show, featuring homegrown favourites such as Ahmad Fuad Osman, Sharon Chin, and Izat Arif, also brings together several renowned regional and international names — Amin Taasha, Michael Shaowanasai, Gary-Ross Pastrana, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Cian Dayrit, MM Yu, Putu Sutawijaya, Than Sok, Ariana Chaivaranon, Krista Nogueras, Law Yuk Mui and Lo Lai Lai Natalie.
Audaciously naming itself a "biennale", Sentul Biennale playfully reflects on the concept of the biennale as an institution, acknowledging its own ambitions amid spatial, financial, and structural constraints, while remaining committed to the value such events can offer.
More info here.
