KUALA LUMPUR: Amnesty International Malaysia's 'We Make Our World: Our Rights are Connected, Our Lives are Intertwined' festival, held from today until Sunday, celebrates the work of artists and human rights defenders.
Its executive director, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, said these artists and human rights defenders were those who have sought to amplify stories of human rights through their art and activism.
Maliamauv said being featured for the first time in Malaysia is the Hope and Sorrow: Photography Exhibition on the Death Penalty.
"It explores how the death penalty gravely impacts the family members of those on death row.
"This exhibition will portray stories and difficult moments faced by three families, including two belonging to Malaysians, who have had loved ones sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in Singapore," she said at the launch of the festival today.
Maliamauv added that the festival was also created for the public to think about the numerous crises and rights violations in Malaysia and globally.
She said the festival, held at the Kuala Lumpur and Chinese Assembly Hall, also features poetry, music performances, art installations and workshops.
She said the workshops and discussion circles over the weekend are being curated to cover many topics, including imagining a world where the violence and trauma of immigration detention are not normalised.
"We will also be having a workshop on our right to information and on practising our right to free expression as citizen journalists, along with an intergenerational discussion circle, created with the firm belief that any movement for change must be diverse, visionary and welcoming to people of all ages and generations."