2022 was a year of great flux in the economic, social, and political landscape locally and globally. Like everyone else, we at Five Arts had to adjust, improvise and navigate difficulties, uncertainties, and precarities. Despite these challenges, we'd like to highlight some of our work below.
We would also like to register a massive 'Thank You' for your support – it is deeply appreciated! 😊 If you enjoy, value, and want to support Five Arts' work, please donate to our collective at https://www.fiveartscentre.org/donate.
New Chapter: a new space, new members, new works
After being located at the outskirts of KL for over two decades, Five Arts moved into the heart of the city in February 2022 – setting up our studio and office at the GMBB creative community mall in Pudu-Bukit Bintang. After a period of transition and settling in, we're looking forward to developing projects with this new context in mind.
Behind the scenes, our intergenerational collective continues to evolve. This year, performer/musician Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri and lighting/media designer Syamsul Azhar joined the collective, following dancer-choreographer Lee Ren Xin in 2020. We look forward to projects initiated by these artists - all of whom were born after Five Arts’ formation in 1984. In a bittersweet decision, the collective and long-time member Fahmi Fadzil mutually agreed that he officially withdraw from Five Arts to avoid any conflict of interests upon his appointment as the new Minister of Communications & Digital, Malaysia. We wish Fahmi all the very best in his new role.
In June 2022, we welcomed audiences and friends to our intimate new space with an opening programme of compelling new works. Lee Ren Xin, one of Malaysia’s most exciting dance artists, presented ANGGOTA, a new creation where she and Tan Bee Hung “dance for all the women in my family who could not”. We produced Material Woman in the Beauty World and Mortal Man: Two Monologues, rehearsed readings of two new plays by Leow Puay Tin, one of Southeast Asia’s most original playwrights, in collaboration with talented young director Tung Jit Yang. There were also screenings of new video essays by Lee Ren Xin (Jalan Harapan) and Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri, Mark Teh, Syamsul Azhar and Wong Tay Sy (fragments of Tuah), which showcased poetic excavations of our everyday living environments and histories.
After several postponements due to Covid-19 lockdowns, we finally presented the much-anticipated KL-run of A Notional History. Directed by Mark Teh and produced by June Tan, the critically-acclaimed documentary performance also toured to Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels) in May, George Town Festival (Penang) in July, and completed a sold-out run at YPAM, the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting in December. A Notional History will be restaged in early-March 2023 at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, with further local and international tours to be announced soon.
For the entire month of October, we shared our studio space with 17 groups and artists for free through the Open House initiative. We were very happy to see old and new friends organising screenings, workshops, rehearsals, exchanges, performances, and artist talks. We will revive Open House on an annual basis – please look out for updates!
Advocacy & Supporting the Larger Ecosystem
In recent years, Five Arts has taken the initiative to address gaps in the larger arts and cultural ecosystem alongside like-minded civil society organisations, collaborators, and partners. This includes supporting the development of archival, educational, and online resources for the performing arts (MY Art Memory Project and Arts Education Archive Malaysia), and serving as secretariat for ReformARTsi, a coalition advocating for reform and policy changes in the arts.
In 2022, we partnered with ArtsEquator on a project to research and document arts and culture censorship in Southeast Asia – please read the excellent articles that have been published throughout the year. Our advocacy work now also includes campaigning on issues related to the climate crisis – Five Arts is a coalition member of both Pertahankan Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat Utara and Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia.
The Krishen Jit Fund, supported by Astro Kasih and Creador Foundation, is now in its 17th year. We remain committed to the mission of encouraging and supporting experimental creative work in Malaysia. The 2022 recipients are Deepak Kumaran Menon, Dylan Yeo Kok Siong, Goh Choon Ean, Low Hsin Yin, Taha Long, and Vesant Nair. Find out more about their exciting projects here.
Five Arts is very grateful for the generous support and empathy provided by our long term partner Yayasan Sime Darby, which enabled us to navigate through the difficulty of the past two years, as well as CENDANA, GMBB, and kind donors, friends and supporters who have helped us through these tough times. Ribuan terima kasih!
Looking Ahead to the New Year
More details soon, but tentatively here is some of what we have planned for 2023! 😊
February 2023: Touch Me, Hold Me, Let Me Go, a lecture performance, and a workshop facilitated by Vancouver-based dance artist Lee Su-Feh.
March 2023: A Notional History at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC).
Mid-2023: Opera Malam Takdir, a new opera inspired by an episode from the Mahabharata - to be staged in Penang and KL. Libretto and music by Johan Othman, directed by Chee Sek Thim.
Mid-2023: ANGGOTA 2, a contemporary dance work by Lee Ren Xin and collaborators.
Late-2023: ItSelf TerJadi, a text-based experimental performance by dancer-choreographer Marion D’Cruz, developed in collaboration with dramaturg Charlene Rajendran and multimedia designer Syamsul Azhar.
Late-2023: a new publication by playwright Leow Puay Tin of Tikam-Tikam texts she has written, collected, and curated over the past 20 years.
Additionally the MY Art Memory Project website will undergo a fresh design, and together with the Arts Education Archive Malaysia, we are planning for in-person outreach events in universities as well as webinars to enable educators and students to directly encounter the immense resources available on these two websites.
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We look forward to seeing you in 2023. Happy Holidays, and Selamat Tahun Baru from all of us at
Five Arts Centre!
Anne James, Chee Sek Thim, Chew Kin Wah, Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri, Ivy N. Josiah, Janet Pillai, June Tan, Kubhaer T. Jethwani, Lee Ren Xin, Mac Chan, Marion D’Cruz, Mark Teh, Ravi Navaratnam, Suhaila Merican, and Syamsul Azhar.