Increased Malaysian, international arts collaboration with British Council support

PENANG – The 12 edition of the George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) will return to its in-person format from November 24 to 27. 

The British Council supports the innovative festival through a partnership that is promoting ongoing international connections. 

Held annually in the Unesco World Heritage site of George Town, Penang, GTLF is an international literary festival celebrating world literature, translations and literary arts.

The theme for this year’s GTLF is ‘Taming the Wild’, which explores the complex relationship between Wilderness and Human Nature.

This year, the British Council and GTLF continue their partnership to explore themes of sustainability, inclusion, and resilience – the focus areas of the British Council’s support for UK-Malaysia arts connections and collaborations.

The British Council’s partnership with the GTLF started in 2015. It has blossomed into a long-standing relationship that continues to showcase international collaborations between Malaysian and UK artists and share new opportunities for Malaysia’s arts and creative sectors.

“Through four diverse showcases supported by the British Council, we will attempt to share how the UK and Malaysian artists have evolved their practice to adapt, and address key issues such as inclusion, sustainability and resilience”, said Florence Lambert, head of arts and creative industries, British Council Malaysia."

She added, “We are also delighted to announce a new grant partnership supported by the British Council between The Poetry Society and GTLF. More details will be shared at the festival”.

Pauline Fan, the festival’s director, said, “It is always special and meaningful when creatives get to meet in person to exchange ideas and share their vision for the future, especially after several years of restricted movement.

"Our longstanding partnership with the British Council has enabled us to add a UK perspective to the festival and birth new collaborations for the benefit of creative industries in Malaysia”. 

The British Council’s supported programmes at the GTLF:

Yee I-Lann: Excavating the Archive

One of Malaysia’s leading figures in the visual arts, Yee I-Lann, will present a deep dive into her British Council-supported residency ‘Resonations’ at the British Library. The sharing session will focus on her work with the Library’s extensive sound archive and the connection to Malaysia.

Panel: Future of Festivals

Festivals of art, culture, film, and literature were forced to fundamentally re-imagine themselves during the years of the pandemic. This panel will discuss who festivals are made for, how curatorial vision can empower (or disempower) artists, and if festivals will remain relevant.

The panellists are journalist Sharaad Kuttan, Nadira Ilana of Telan Bulan Films, Hardesh Singh of The Cooler Lumpur Festival, and Daniel Lim of Think City. 

Unboxed: 'About Us' by Judith Palmer and Katie Popperwell 

About Us is commissioned by Unboxed: Creativity in the UK. The project explores the infinite ways we are connected to the universe, the natural world and one another.

It is a major spectacular show that toured the UK in spring 2022, supported by a wide-ranging, schools and community engagement programme.

This showcase will feature a film accompanied by a talk on how the show was put together, focussing on the role of poetry in the creative process, and the community and schools’ engagement programme. 

Borneo Bengkel

Exhibition: sem/bunyi

Panel: Behind the Scenes of Borneo Bengkel

Spoken word and cultural performance

Join creative platform Borneo Bengkel as it presents sem/bunyi, an interactive exhibition from 23-27 November 2022 at Hin Bus Depot, as part of this year’s George Town Literary Festival.

A play on two Malay words – sembunyi, meaning ‘to hide’, and bunyi, translated as ‘sound’ – this exhibition showcases selected works from Borneo Bengkel’s 2021 projects Soundbank and Lingua Franca, presented through poetry and audiovisual installations. 

Featuring written and audiovisual works produced by collaborators from across Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, and Kalimantan) as well as the United Kingdom, sem/bunyi tells of stories ‘hidden in plain sight’; stories that are often neglected from national narratives, or only discovered by curious observers. 

Culminating in a spoken word and cultural performance on November 27, the exhibition invites visitors to explore and reflect on these audiovisual documentations of identity, indigenous languages, folk music and found sound. Audience members are advised to bring earphones. 

For more information about the British Council-supported works at GTLF, visit the website and follow the British Council on Facebook, Twitter (@my_british) and Instagram (@my_british) for the latest updates from the festival.

Apart from the workshops by festival writers, admission to the GTLF is free. – The Vibes, November 23, 2022