MELAKA – The inaugural ‘River Lights 2022: Melaka’ event was launched yesterday at the SDG Park, Jalan Melaka Sentral fixed with local art performances and interactive installations signifying the comeback of visual artistry that has been stagnant since the pandemic hit the historic city.
The three-day event is also a follow-up to the ‘Art In The City Kuala Lumpur’ programme, an initiative organised by Think City, funded through the Cultural Economic Development Agency (Cendana) and in close support of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia late last year.
Alexdrina Chong leads the project as the event head and curator. Suzy Sulaiman joins as the installation artist where her work is featured exclusively at the location.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, MyCreative Ventures chairman Noor Azmi Mat Said said: “Together with Cendana, we will no doubt continue to intensify the role of protecting creative businesses and employment by maintaining and revitalising the arts and culture sector in the country”.
“The collaboration with Think City together with the collective artists participating for the event as well as Malacca City Council (MBMB) is vital in the success of realising ‘River Lights’ and other potential locations.
“This event will not only inspire the need to further the importance of the orange economy but also harmonise the public-private partnerships post-pandemic,” he added.
Present at the event were Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) mayor Datuk Zainal Abu, State Youth Development, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) committee chairman V.P Shanmugam and Think City Sdn Bhd programme director Daniel Lim to officiate the event.
Arts and the community
Whether you are a local, new in town or just passing through, be sure not to miss this interactive community-based occasion with the event ending today.
Visitors will be able to additionally enjoy a video documentary screening telling the stories of Melakans and how their narrative helps to shape the identity of their locality prepared specially for ‘River Lights 2022: Melaka’.
Illimite Creative co-founder Alex Loh shares his production team’s unique experience of their video work.
“When we were contacted to participate, we knew immediately that we had to be part of the initiative because there are not many community-based events done in Melaka that are free for public access."
The Melaka-born creative director also notes when one thinks of the city, “you think of the cultural heritage that makes it appealing and River Lights is done to promote so on a much interpersonal scale.”
“We have been operating our production for seven years purely out of Melaka. And we are proud to be able to equally push for interesting stories about the people of the locale.”
“In the documentary, you will follow our interviews of five individuals – the owner of a villa-museum in the famous Kampung Morten, a café owner near Jonker that collects coffee from 13 states, the owner behind The Bendahari Market, a retired army veteran who became a fisherman and an individual representing the Gurdwara Sahib Melaka,” Loh shared.
“We had gone through a lot of candidates but what led us to the ones selected for the documentary is that they all have precious stories to tell about the past (experiences and influences) as well as their aspirations about how they would like Melaka to be.
“I think you would find that the city has a lot of charm, and it just takes projects such as this to highlight it out,” he added. He noted that if there is an opportunity to extend the documentary further with more funding, they would grab it.
Sharing about the string art structure situated along the riverbank where the public can freely marvel and take pictures with, “the installation is meant to be temporary where the strings will have some wear and tear over time, but I am hoping that it can at least last even after the event so that the public can enjoy it.
“There are a lot of variables to consider apart from the weather. That said, the installation is purposely done to ensure that people interact with it, but of course, you must be mindful at the same time,” said artist and university lecturer Suzy Sulaiman.
“Additionally, I wanted to work with a medium that is temporary and more organic as such that it is different from most public sculptures, which are usually permanent with the usage of steel or metal.
“At least visitors can understand and explore art away from what they are conventionally used to seeing,” she added.
“This work took me about six weeks to complete, and I had assistance with a friend, artist Hanisah Johari who helped me with the weaving techniques.
“Honestly, this design is considered relatively tame than another sketch idea that I had and from the design pitches of other artists,” she noted.
Suzy has done works for local festivals such as Urbanscapes and Good Vibes in the past but when the pandemic hit, “projects stopped almost immediately.”
“My last installation work was in 2019, so this would mark the first commissioned showcase since Covid happened – almost three years later. Even for this event, we've had to postpone it a couple of times”.
Sponsors Julie’s biscuits equally contributed in a separate ‘Hope’ installation that boasts Filamen light mapping with the help of Epson and JBL (speakers) for an immersive artistic sensory experience that could be enjoyed by the community. Other sponsors include MB World Group Berhad and BookXcess.
The first two nights saw live music and performances from Max Busker, Stephen Chin and Orang Orang Drum Theatre. Azroy Busker and Orang Orang Drum Theatre are set to perform tonight at 8pm and 9pm respectively.
Those who are keen to witness ‘River Lights 2022: Melaka’ in person can head on over SDG Park, Jalan Melaka Sentral between 7.30pm–10.30pm. Admission is free. – The Vibes, March 27, 2022
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