Malaysia | Co-curated by Tan Hui Koon, coordinated by Amir Amin and Zikri Rahman

Introduction by the curator

Responding to the ‘disaster’ from a country where it is free from major natural disaster, Malaysian is hardly to imagine such disaster like Japan 2011 tsunami/earthquake event. The nearest traumatic natural disaster event is 2004 Aceh’s tsunami that effected partially north east and west coast of Malaysia. Our major unfortunate disaster events most likely are flood and land slide, haze, fire and man made customs. From the traveling school backpacks (Randoseru) which originally performed as relief kit during and post Japan 2011, these school bags passing to invited individuals and collectives to see how Malaysian participants respond upon these bags and interpretation on the meaning of ‘disaster’. These are the bags that contained multiple meanings and feelings such as danger, anxiety, comfort, safe and openness interpretations to the artists and audiences. How we understand, perceive and imagine disaster? Can disaster or injury and damage prevented through design? This project inviting everyone to re-think of disaster in our comfort zone through the bags from Japan year 2011.

Do we have any? what does it mean and how we respond towards it?

 

Exhibitions and activities

coming soon.

Curator’s Biography

Graduated from USM in 2007, Tan Hui Koon has emerge her art making practice into periphery of curatorial. She currently is the curator of the National Art Gallery Malaysia. Since past 5 years, Hui Koon lead Education Division, creating dan programming substance educational programs, proposing public engagement and audience building strategy. She curated Aliran Semasa young emerging artists media art exhibition in 2013; co-curating Immaterial Frontiers 2.0, a South East Asia media art exhibition in 2014; and created a community project, Gerakan Seni (Art On The Move) in 2015 as artistic director. She just curated 101 Malaysian Women Art Show, 2017. She is one of the curators for Mapping: Malaysia Modern Art History 1920-1970 proposing permenant exhibition of NAG; The Malaysia Contemporary Forum Exhibition at Ilham Gallery and the first Kuala Lumpur Biennale 2017.

Coordinators’ Biography

Amir Amin graduated from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) with B.A (Hons) in Fine Art, majoring in painting. He is the founder of ARTO Movement; a multidisciplinary art collective that is focusing on the diversity of Malaysian and international art. Art curatorial and management aspect are what Amir is very passionate about. Between year 2010-2014 Amir organized and co-curated the “Kala Warna Bertatih” exhibition at Galeri Seni FSSR. Besides, he also has co-organized several exhibitions and events as well and the latest one is called Bukan Objek Seni by Bukan Seni-man; a group exhibition held at Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur. Besides that, he also co-curated Faith; A Contemporary Islamic Art Exhibition, Canvas and Platform 2: Artist, Time and Space at Galeri Chandan.

Zikri Rahman consistently embark in diverse interdisciplinary socio-political and various cultural activism projects. Buku Jalanan; a project co-founded as a cultural workers collective and community based cultural literacy initiative focusing on decentralising the modes of knowledge production. The idea has now spread out to more than 90 different locations and been adopted by hundreds of autonomous cultural workers worldwide. Other than that, he is also the festival director for the inaugural Idearaya Festival; a festival of ideas to celebrate progressive and dynamic discourses within vibrant and diverse grassroots community, intelligentsia, civil society and community organizer in Southeast Asia. Apart from that, Zikri is also a writer, independent researcher, translator and podcaster for various online portals such as Projek Dialog, Jalan Telawi and Roket Kini. Currently, he is doing a cultural and literary mapping project of Kuala Lumpur through the lenses of literature with LiteraCity.

Newly Joined Artists

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