Five Arts Centre is 40 years old in 2024 :)
We've been doing performance and politics, education and experimentation, for four decades - since 9 January 1984.
There will be more to come, more to say, more to reflect upon, more to do, and more projects in the
months ahead. Please watch this space.
In the meantime, here are some highlights from our 2023.
Touch Me Hold Me Let Me Go - Lee Su-Feh's workshop introduces participants to Fitzmaurice Voicework® and her TMHMLMG algorithm.
Thank You for Everything, Chee Sek Thim! An appreciation.
Terima Kasih & YNWA, Chew Kin Wah! An appreciation.
Contact Zones: Why Bother With Arts Archives? Roundtable discussion about the relevance & future of arts archives in Malaysia & Singapore.
ItSelf TerJadi - a text-based, experimental performance about the memories, feelings & thoughts of a woman dealing with cancer, Covid-19 & aging.
Seoul Performing Arts Festival interview: Mark Teh - a conversation with SPAF artistic director Kyu Choi ahead of A Notional History's tour to South Korea, Germany & Australia.
A Notional History - Documentary performance responding to a critical moment in Malaysia – the publishing of new, official history textbooks in 2020.
ANGGOTA 2: Re-Member - new dance work by Lee Ren Xin arising from the award-winning ANGGOTA, this time focusing on embodiment on a day to day level & 'voice' as a significant element.
Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Database panel discussion. At ILHAM Gallery, in conjunction with the exhibition Nirmala Dutt: Statements.
Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Database launch & presentation. At Freedom Film Network's inaugural International Conference on Film & Society.
Malam Takdir - a new opera by Johan Othman that is inspired by the Mahabharata. Directed by Chee Sek Thim.
Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Database - explore over 670 cases of censorship across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam between 2010 & 2022.
MY Art Memory Project is the first comprehensive initiative to digitally document the history of performing arts in Malaya-Malaysia.
Arts Education Archive Malaysia is an online resource tracing the development of non-formal arts education programmes in Malaysia since the 1970s.
Excavations, Interrogations, Krishen Jit & Contemporary Malaysian Theatre - Publication featuring 14 writers from different disciplines & generations critically engaging with Krishen Jit’s theatre.
Staging History: Selected Plays from Five Arts Centre Malaysia 1984-2014 - A publication featuring 15 of the most iconic, innovative & memorable plays & performance texts produced by the collective.
Now in its 19th year, the Krishen Jit Fund was created to encourage and support experimental creative work in Malaysia. One of the main objectives of theatre director Krishen Jit’s pioneering work was to celebrate original Malaysian art, across a range of disciplines, and to pursue innovative modes of expression and intervention.