COVER STORY: Homage to heritage

2009/11/26

DENNIS CHUA

An arts fest will be held to celebrate Malacca’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site, writes DENNIS CHUA. FOR the first time, the historic city of Malacca is having its very own arts festival, for three days beginning tomorrow. The Melaka Art And Performance Festival 2009 (MAP 2009) is a celebration of music, visual art, dance and film that simultaneously pays tribute to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Heritage Site.

The festival is organised by E-Plus Entertainment Productions with the support of the Malacca State Government and the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.

E-Plus managing director and festival producer Andrew Ching said the festival sought to promote Malacca as a creative hub for innovative arts. “The festival seeks to help make Malacca a city where heritage is respected and artistic and cultural fusion is encouraged. It goes beyond mere entertainment, and integrates the arts within Malacca.” Its creative director Tony Yap said the festival will see artistes present short, innovative performances in all artistic mediums.

“Malacca is developing fast and there is a need to combine this with cultural and creative paths,” he said. “Traditional arts will be showcased alongside contemporary expressions with innovative use of technology,” he said.

The event celebrates Malacca’s wealth of multiculturalism and its rich history. The free-entry festival has seven sites around St Paul’s Hill and A’Famosa. All events begin at 3.30pm daily, divided into 21 half-hour slots. There will be concurrent events at three sites.

Ching said: “Old ruins and heritage sites give us a sense of continuity with the old ways.” The festival’s event manager Shaun Tan said an overall theme for the festival was the notion of a “living eulogy”.

“This is inspired by the little wooden tablets in the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, attached with photos commemorating loved ones who have passed on,” he said.

The final performance, Eulogy For The Living, is an internal journey into the memory of body and soul.

“Here we transform and reconnect with a deeper part of ourselves, within the fleeting transience of contemporary life,” he said.

There will be 23 international artists at the festival and two Malaysians, sound artist Goh Lee Kuang and media artiste Kim Ng.

The artists hail from Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Spain and Chile. Ching said: “Kim’s installation is Postcards To Melaka, which is an interesting concept that explores the city’s past, present and future.” Yap, himself an acclaimed dancer and choreographer based in Australia, will present a dance production Budak Melaka which also includes music, installation and video art.

He said: “It’s my tribute to my hometown and contains dance vocabulary from the rich everyday practices and movements particular to this region. In this, I’m working with two Australian musicians and a Japanese artiste.” The 2008 Australia Council Dance Fellowship recipient has collaborated with many dance companies in Australia, China, Italy, France and elsewhere.

Ching said most of the site-specific performances and multimedia works come under the banner of MAPping.

“The performances under MAPping have 15 international artistes who transform the historical buildings and landmarks into magical and surreal visions, creating living embodiments of heritage in close proximity to the audience.” The festival incorporates the 15/15 Film Festival, aimed at providing emerging and independent filmmakers a chance to showcase their new works. Held annually in July at 32 international destinations, it invites filmmakers to make 15-minute short films in 15 hours. It also comes with a filmmakers’ workshop on Saturday.

Ching said they planned to make the festival an annual event and next year's would be held in June, close to the anniversary of Malacca’s Unesco declaration. For more information, visit www.melakafestival.com.