12 selected for virtual art residency

TWELVE up-and-coming artists have been selected to participate in the K[otak]ku virtual art residency and exhibition hosted by Haus Kch, a Sarawak-based creative community incubator.

Haus Kch director Syed Rusydie Syed Habib said the artists were shortlisted from 38 submissions from all over Malaysia.

“This is an encouraging sign of how Malaysia’s artists are able to express themselves in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has decimated or ground entire industries to a halt, ” he said.

“Artists and creatives prove to be no exception when it comes to the struggles we face in keeping our livelihoods afloat while trying to make sense of life in the pandemic.”

Syed Rusydie said that he was personally touched by the response to the residency.

“It gives us a reason to continue believing and fighting for our creative communities, ” he added.

The selected artists are Alicia Lau from Kuala Lumpur, Anissa Razali (Kuala Lumpur), Antoine Loncle (Penang), Bethany Balan (Sarawak), Hanis Farisa (Selangor), Izzat Zurrin (Selangor), Jesse Joy (Sabah), Joanne Loo (Melaka), Kam Yew Chee (Penang), Sheena Liam (Penang), Sofia Munira (Kuala Lumpur) and Zul Hanafi (Perak).

According to Syed Rusydie, shortlisting the artists was more challenging than initially anticipated because of the quality of their proposals.

“Those selected clearly outlined their vision on what they want to achieve by the end of the residency, ” he said.

During the month-long residency, which started on Feb 12, the artists will create art based on their proposals while being taught documentation skills as well as good financial and management practices.They will present their work in an online exhibition at the end of the residency.

K[otak]ku is supported by the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation.