The three-day Rainforest Music Festival at the base of Mount Santubong just finished its 14th year. When taking into consideration that arts and culture of Malaysia has been concentrated in Kuala Lumpur area, it is encouraging fact that the world music festival has been held in Kuching for 14 long years.

The three-day RWMF at the base of Mount Santubong just finished its 14th year and continues to be a major tourist draw for Sarawak. Despite criticisms of its increasing commercialisation in recent years, it retained its spot as one of the 25 best international festivals in the world named by the British magazine Songlines. It is now a full-blown affair with music, cultural activities, including food and craft sales for the carnival feel.

RWMF co-founder and artistic director Randy Raine-Reusch says the aim of the festival was to showcase bands that are taking traditional or folk music forms and bringing it into contemporary times – and it is still sticking to its roots.

The district where RMF is held became a major tourist draw for Sarawak. Despite criticisms of its increasing commercialisation in recent years, it retained its spot as one of the 25 best international festivals in the world named by the British magazine Songlines.

Because the critical mass is in Kuala Lumpur, it''s where you find the most arts happenings in Malaysia. But a few niche festivals such as RFMF have been growing throughout the country. Small and focused festivals – which are independently envisioned and led - could be the way to go in the Malaysia Performing Arts scene. Kuala Lumpur -based performing groups have also established branches outside of KL, most notably in Penang, which is the next biggest state with a sizeable community of arts fans.




EVEN for a famous and acclaimed company like Akram Khan''s, finding a suitable partner to stage their dance in Malaysia was a challenge. The contemporary dance company''s co-founder and producer Farooq Chaudhry shares about how went to Kuala Lumpur in 2009 to check out KL but didn''t manage to find the right platform or partner for a performance.mGround was finally broken with the George Town Festival and the company''s latest production, Vertical Road, made its showing at Penang''s main performance hall, Dewan Sri Pinang, in the second edition of the George Town Festival. "It''s the smaller festivals that are more adventurous in their programming," notes Mr Chaudhry, who adds generously, after the performance, that he loved Penang and its audience.

In this case, it''s not just that the George Town Festival is small, but that it does have a few things going for it – like being themed around George Town, a World Heritage Site since 2009, and that the artistic director was given a free hand when programming the festival.

George Town Festival is one of the newest festivals in Malaysia, but it''s already made a name for itself with its community-friendly programming that celebrates the culture and heritage of Penang and its city.

The way I see it, it''s a good thing is that it doesn''t put arts as its focus, but the city and its heritage – and thus, the arts is being used creatively not just to celebrate the city but to illustrate issues around it. This way, people who aren''t necessarily arty or trained in the arts won''t feel intimidated but when the topic is something they''re interested in or familiar with, the way they get engaged is through a creative medium.

Sometimes, being small has its advantages – especially when its constraint forces better focus. Joe Sidek, organiser and de facto artistic director of George Town Festival, notes: "We have had to catch up over 15 years where regional festivals are concerned, with limited funding and performance spaces. So I had to make the festival George Town-centric - threading the history, people, spaces and energies into a cultural/arts tapestry for the festival."

Focusing on George Town''s history, communities, and spaces – provides that balance for locals and visitors. "It''s a chance for locals to appreciate and learn be proud of their city, and for visitors to savour its uniqueness," says Mr Sidek.

This year''s programming saw double the number of art exhibitions, mainly by local or Penang-based artists. Notable art exhibitions included Rebecca Duckett Wilkinson''s Wayang! - where she did an installation about the issue of heritage shophouses in the city being turned into breeding houses, and Blending of Blood – a photographic community project curated by internationally renowned art & museum curator Marina Betist- which attempts to showcase the diverse ancentries of Penangites.

Performance-wise, there was the world-class Akram Khan''s Vertical Road and a lovely performance of chamber choral music by the Lisbon Chamber Choir held St George''s Church, the oldest Anglican Church in South-east Asia. But there was also the edgy and conceptual River Meets Light, a locally-produced site-specific work that looks at our relationship and treatment of rivers. The festival brought audiences to the city – to its shophouses, community center, botanical garden and religious buildings (an Open House day held on July 7, which was the day George Town was awarded its World Heritage City status).

Rimbun Dahan at Kuala Lumpur

Rimbun Dahan was established by Hijjan Kasturi and Angela Hijjas in 1994, and because Angela is Australian, the residency – ranging from three months to a year – is aimed at Australian and Malaysian visual artists. Besides artists, poets, authors, performance artists, and choreographers, as well as arts managers, have also found inspiration during shorter residencies at Rimbun Dahan.

The folks behind Rimbun Dahan, Angela Hijjas and her husband, Hijjas Kasturi, have recently opened a luxury boutique hotel in Penang; thus laying down the ground for an extension of their arts residency in Penang besides Kuala Lumpur. The Penang residencies are hoped to start operating by early 2014. It will be different from the Rimbun Dahan residency that is fully funded, but they will seek sponsors who can jointly support an artist from the developed world and one from ASEAN so that there is a regional balance.

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