Finally Presenting, KL International Arts Festival, DiverseCity 2015

Having celebrated the grand opening of Kuala Lumpur’s very first International Arts Festival, DiverseCity 2015 will be taking place throughout the whole of September. Composed of six major arts segments, comedy, traditional arts, dance, literature, music and visual arts, DiverseCity is bringing you some of the best acts Kuala Lumpur and the world have to offer.

Starting on September 16^th is the week-long Kuala Lumpur International Comedy Festival, KLICFest. Curated by Malaysia’s very own Harith Iskander, KLICFest is set to present over 60 comedians from 14 different countries. Although comedy is not always viewed as what we perceive to be mainstream art, the ability to walk an audience through an experience and to feel and appreciate the act is what I see that relates to art. One of the acts, named Ongals, is flying in from South Korea to perform in KLICFest. They are quickly climbing the world comedy ladder for their performance. In case you’re concerned about not being able to understand what they’re trying to say, have no fear; the comedy of the act itself is supposedly in their toddler-like behavior. Unintentionally funny children have been making their rounds all around the internet, making everyone laugh like idiots while staring at their phones or laptop screens. Perhaps it might be nice for all of us (myself included) to start laughing at a real performance comedy performance instead.

The KL International Dance festival is curated by UNESCO Living Human Treasure, Datuk Ramli Ibrahim. He has commissioned a total of 12 dance productions for this festival, including his own Sutra Dance Company. There are few Malaysians who have the same fervor and dedication for the arts and culture in Malaysia, and Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, like many artists, has struggled long and hard to get to where he is today. I think all the acts are worth watching, but perhaps the ones I personally would like to see would be the Chinese contemporary opera titled “Young Curtain”, by award-winning GuoGuang Opera Company. Having lived in Beijing for many years, I know and appreciate the history, traditions and culture that the Chinese opera represents, and how significant it is that Chinese culture is being represented in this festival. And of course, I am greatly anticipating the Odissi dance production “Ganjam” by Sutra Foundation, which is being performed for the very first time, and was choreographed specifically for this festival.

Eddin Khoo, the founder of cultural center Pusaka, is the curator for the traditional arts segment of DiverseCity 2015. His passion for the arts burns hotter than many artists in Malaysia, and his cultural centre fights hard to preserve the country’s traditional Malay culture and traditions. He is bringing in, all the way from Azerbaijan, award-winning Alim Qasimov. Qasimov was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize for his performance of the traditional Mugham singing. He will be performing with his daughter, Fargana, to bring Malaysia a taste of the true culture of Azerbaijan.

And of course, everyone loves music. DiverseCity Music is curated by Malaysian jazz guru, Michael Veerapen. I’ll be most looking forward to the Pub Festival, largely because I enjoy the environment of the experience almost as much as the music itself. There will be performances in No Black Tie and Alexis, both already popular places for drinks (not juice or soda) and music.

Of course, it is impossible to forget about the visual arts. What kind of arts festival would leave out such a large component of the arts? Malaysian photographer SoonHoe will have his black and white photography series titled “Momentum” featured in an exhibition as part of DiverseCity 2015. Coming from a private collection in Penang is an exhibition titled “Penang Art: Then and Now”, an artistic insight from 41 paintings and sculptures sure to make Penangites proud.

I’ve always loved the literary arts. Communication through words is common, but turning it into an art is not. Curated by ITBM (Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia) brings you monologists and poets, all performing in Bahasa Melayu in the Literature segment of DiverseCity 2015.

For a first-time festival, DiverseCity has gained a lot of momentum, specifically for KLICFest, KLIDance, and the traditional arts segment. The curators have shown great dedication for their work, and I think it is incredibly exciting that they are working alongside each other to bring the arts to the forefront of Kuala Lumpur today. With all the negativity and realism that is causing tension among the people right now, I hope the KL International Arts Festival will bring color, movement and harmony through the arts aligning with the festival’s theme of “Rediscovering our Heritage”.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://diversecity.my