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11.9.2005 -  More thoughts on independence day - Fulfilled promises

I'm about to state the obvious. Merdeka is an occasion where we can glow about our achievements as a nation, with little room for griping about anything. The Merdeka concert, on the other hand, is about showcasing what each ethnic culture has to offer, so this year we had everything from Zainal Abidin to Poetic Ammo to Bangharra to Joget. Although amusing and mildly enjoyable, it's a forced display of "We all get along mah!" - implying, of course, that we don't.

In light of this, I felt that the notthatbalai art fest, an indie effort that managed to unite art communities of all disciplines and races, was the true Merdeka celebration. It ended 10 days before Merdeka. Race was never an issue, differences were celebrated but not in the forced manner of the abovementioned concert.

This week, Sharon Chin and myself have released our kakiseni review of notthatbalai. We hope you find it stimulating. And if not stimulating, at least affirming.

As mentioned in my previous entry, RAP is hosting some talks in September. Please see Notices below for the full skinny. On September 16th (this Friday) I will be talking about my personal experience with the collaborative process involved in the show Very Big Numbers Are Scary, while Sharon Chin will be presenting a talk on her work. Then, Daniel Chong will give a talk on art history on the 23rd.

Lotsa stuff happening. Check it out below!

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----------------------------------------NOTICES----------------------------------------
The Pelangi Community Foundation is a home for people living with HIV / AIDS who are rejected by family and society.The Foundation has been offered a free booth at a carnival at Arena Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club
on the 25th of Sept and are asking for artists to donate art to sell. If you would like to contribute, please contact directly asap Rainer Rothoff at rainersg@yahoo.com.
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The Townhouse Gallery is relocating to Wei-Ling Gallery at Brickfields/KL Sentral area. Wei-Ling Gallery's inaugural exhibition will be 18@8 and will run from 17 Sept - 5 October 2005.
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September Talks @ RAP.

Artist Talk by Sharon Chin & Lydia Chai
16th September 2005, Friday 8pm at RAP
Entry by Donation

Sharon Chin is a graduate from Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia, majoring in sculpture. She has recently returned to Kuala Lumpur. Her first solo exhibition Boats and Bridges was held last month at Reka Art Space, where she created two installations and several drawings and objects to explore the idea of transitions and journeys from one place to another. Her work often deals with questions of placement, location and language as well as permanent and transitory states of mind.

Lydia Chai recently returned to Malaysia after pursuing a fine arts degree in New Zealand. She has exhibited in both countries and was a finalist in the Waikato Contemporary Art Award in 2003. Also known by the moniker Gnute, she writes about art on a freelance basis. For this talk, Lydia will present images from the exhibition Very Big Numbers Are Scary, exhibited earlier this year, which was a collaboration between her and two New Zealand artists, Rachael Grant and Hamish Palmer. The talk will revolve around the process of collaboration, with Lydia's personal slant on the possibilities and joys of the collaborative process.

Art Talk: "MY" Art History by Daniel Chong
23rd September 2005, Friday 8pm at RAP
Entry by Donation

Daniel Chong is a graduate in the History of Art from the American University of Paris and the Sorbonne. Since returning from France early last year, he has been working at Valentine Willie Fine Art Gallery. In this talk, Daniel shares briefly his study experience and his general thoughts on the state of art history in Malaysia. The aim is simply to give greater exposure to this rather unusual field of study and its benefit to artist and society. Daniel also looks forward in exchanging ideas on the way art is unfolding in the country, and how it is being recorded, charted and transmitted locally and internationally.

For Further enquiries: Wong Tay Sy 012-3281946 or Yap Sau Bin 016-6843063.
Email: rumah_airpanas@hotmail.com
Direction and Map is available at : www.rap.home-page.org
Address: Rumah Air Panas, No 5, Jalan Ayer Leleh, Air Panas, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur
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Beautiful Struggle: The 1000-word Project. CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: The World Youth Centre (Canada), in cooperation with UN Habitat, is launching a new global initiative and we invite you to take part! The World Youth Centre aims to engage young social entrepreneurs in social, educational, cultural, development, mind-body, and growth activities both locally and globally.

The Thousand-Word Project is an international mural project based around the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This project is uniting young people around the world in a common focus that is
at the same timeunique to each country/city/locale. For more see http://www.beautifulstruggle.org

The uniting theme for this project is two words: Beautiful Struggle. Young artists from across the world will focus on one of the Millennium Development Goals and bring to life their interpretations of that goal through depicting the attainment of that goal as a beautiful struggle.

The project will be two-fold. The first stage will take place as the international mural program. The second stage will consist of the artists involved being interviewed by our chief writer on why they chose that particular MDG as part of her research on each locale. This 2nd stage will culminate in the publishing of a book to be distributed throughout junior-high schools and high schools as an educational tool.

This book, titled Beautiful Struggle: The Thousand Word Project, will feature each mural created across the globe and will be accompanied by thousand-word essays on the locales and problems that young people face in each participating region, relating to the Millennium Development Goals.

United Nations Millennium Development Goals:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

What we are looking for:We are looking for either individual artists or community based arts groups
that are interested in becoming a part of this global and groundbreaking initiative by painting a mural around one of the Millennium Development Goals in their own locale.

For more information or to be involved, please contact: Javid Alibhai, Project Coordinator, thousandwordproject@gmail.com.
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