The inaugural Klang River Festival (KRF) 2022, is an annual open pageant in the Klang Valley that goals to facilitate public discourse and knowledge-sharing about heritage, culture, and identification.
The free admission pageant, by a various programme that includes up to date artwork, social and cultural occasions, invitations the public to find (or rediscover) neighbourhoods and city areas alongside the Klang River.
Organised by KongsiKL and supported by Exsim, this formidable mission consists of heritage walks, images and analysis exhibitions, set up artwork, music, efficiency artwork, bazaars and dialogue periods with city planners, builders and researchers.
Held from Nov 25 to Dec 4, the Klang River Festival highlights the river’s significance as a supply for transportation, contemporary water, meals and non secular rituals, whereas acknowledging its transient and ever-changing nature.
It additionally demonstrates how communities which have sprung up alongside the waterway and its tributaries have been formed and modified by them and vice versa.
A view from beneath the bridge that connects Old Klang Road to the New Pantai Expressway (NPE). Sans Collective will likely be putting in its mild projection collection ‘Dari Lumpur Ke Laut’ at this location. Photo: Klang River Festival
The occasions will likely be held in a number of arts-based centres and neighborhood areas in Kuala Lumpur in addition to in Klang, Selangor.
“Most people regard Klang River (basin) as a geographic place of commerce, work and entertainment, not knowing that Klang River and its tributaries are the veins and arteries of the land and that dwellers once relied on for transportation, fresh water, food, farming and even religious rituals. Though many places of interest along the river have been forgotten, they were once closely related to each other and interconnected through water.
“Klang River Festival’s main objective is to raise public awareness on the importance of the river and to bring together interests and concerns that would help transform Klang River Valley into a better place to live in,” says Teoh Chee Keong, pageant advisor and vp of arts area KongsiKL.
The identification of a spot is formed by social actions and bodily modifications, and Klang has seen its justifiable share of change over the many years, with the Klang River being a continuing central presence.
KRF units out to showcase the efficient use of public areas, whereas additionally facilitating public discourse and knowledge-sharing about heritage, culture and identification.
Kerja Jalan, a collective of heritage activists, will likely be taking guests for excursions curated for the pageant. Photo: Kerja Jalan
Klang River has traditionally formed our metropolis to be what it’s right now. It flows from the north of KL by the metropolis centre and travels all the method to the Strait of Malacca in Port Klang. The Old Klang Road constructed over a century in the past by the British Colonial Government mimics the river.
“Before the Federal Highway was completed, this was the only trunk road linking KL to Klang,” says Yasmin Lane, who curates Kerja Jalan, one in every of the KRF heritage walks.
This morning stroll will begin at KongsiKL and head in the path of the river, with stops alongside the method to study extra about the neighborhood and historical past of the space.
Old Klang Road could appear to be one lengthy highway on the map, however on the floor, you discover the totally different tales round every bend.
“Communities that evolved along this road are distinguished by the distance in miles it is situated to the city. For instance, KongsiKL sits at Batu 4½ (the 4½ mile mark). As you move along the river you will find different pockets of developments that have mushroomed and thrived, with unique stories at every mile,” she says.
Klang River Festival highlights how communities have been formed and modified by the river, and vice versa. This photograph exhibits a scene from Kampung Pasir in Klang. Photo: Klang River Festival
Throughout the pageant, the analysis exhibition Old Klang Road Revisited will likely be open every day. It explores the relationship between the Klang River and Old Klang Road, and welcomes the public to be a part of the repository of reminiscence on the topic.
Dennis Ong, who’s a part of the analysis staff, notes that the Klang River begins in the chilly murky darkness of the Ulu Gombak Forest Reserve and from there, it makes its approach down in a southwest path,twisting and turning for 120km.
“It is famous for how it meanders in a serpentine fashion, often causing floods during the monsoon or heavy rains, while its bends and nooks provide shelter for crocodiles to lurk closer to unsuspecting humans. Along the way, it is fed by a system of 13 major tributaries, each one rich in its own lore. Finally, at the end of its journey, the Klang empties into the Straits of Malacca at the port city that shares its name,” he says.
He factors out that there have been many makes an attempt to tame the Klang River’s flooding, and the previous few many years noticed quite a few river tasks to mitigate the annual deluge, reminiscent of the constructing of embankments, in addition to the deepening, straightening and widening of the river, and even the altering of its course.
“The Klang River runs almost parallel to Old Klang Road and the KTM railway tracks, a stark surviving reminder as to how the road once played an important role as an alternative thoroughfare, despite the march of time,” he says.
Singer-songwriter Fikri Fadzil, who is named Bayangan, will likely be acting at the ‘Flow Of Rhythm’ live performance at KongsiKL on Nov 27. Photo: Handout
Digital arts collective Filamen’s Abdul Shakir, who’s the curator of KRF’s mild projection tasks, says that the pageant is a platform not only for artists to attach, but additionally the communities in the neighborhood.
“I hope this festival can bring people together, just like how we used to build settlements by the
river in the past. Hopefully this will also lead to people appreciating the river more,” says Shakir.
A visible feast
Photography fanatics can take a look at the Living By The River images exhibition at the Oriental Art And Cultural Centre (OACC) in Old Klang Road, which can even characteristic video works.
“The exhibition comprises abstract images that express the movement of water as well as documentary-style images that capture the faces, landscape and built environment in the vicinity of the Klang River, contributed by various photographers like Alvin Lau, Amirul Rahman, Andrew Ling, Douglas Ho, Low Pey Sien, Tang Chun Cheuh and Zung Heng.
Tang Chun Cheuh’s photograph of Apartment Putra Ria at Abdullah Hukum in KL is featured in the festival’s photography exhibition. Photo: Klang River Festival
“We are also including some images taken during our walks while preparing for the festival,” says pageant producer Mah Jun Yi.
At KongsiKL, there may be an artwork set up by artist Liew Chee Heai titled My Island, the place he attracts on recollections of his time dwelling on a small fishing island off the coast of Japan, with round 30 inhabitants. He was based mostly in Japan for 16 years and is now again in Malaysia.
“We replenish our food and daily necessities on the mainland. Whenever a typhoon hits, the boat and ferry services would be suspended, and we are isolated. I lived in a house facing the sea. From my house, I would see the ocean and fishermen out at sea. I would describe it as a lone island, because I don’t usually meet people, I am alone most of the time. So I transfer my memories and feelings on the island into this installation,” says Liew.
My Island is a large-scale set up that sits on water, with ice and a smoke machine to create fog on the water. It is a arrange that Liew describes as poetic and containing slices of his life.
“The nature of an island in contrast is soft and mysterious in solitude. The installation will soften the KongsiKL space, which is masculine, with its exposed iron roof trusses, bare concrete floor and straight lines,” he provides.
Starting a dialog
The Klang River Festival gathers specialists and fanatics beneath one roof in its Festival Dialogue Series, creating an area for dialogue by talks that revolve round themes reminiscent of neighborhood and cultural practices, placemaking, growth and images documentation.
At KongsiKL, artist Liew Chee Heai will likely be presenting an set up work titled ‘My Island’, the place he attracts on recollections of his time dwelling on a small fishing island off the coast of Japan. Photo: The Star/Art Chen
Speakers embrace arts educator and cultural sustainability advisor Janet Pillai and architect and city historian Teoh Chee Keong.
In the Placemaking: Antara Hulu Dan Hilir session moderated by Bilqis Hijjas at KongsiKL, they may take into account how you can map the layers of this advanced city panorama, and provoke a dialogue on the conservation issues of a neighborhood as soon as united by the widespread expertise of dwelling by the river, who are actually divided by the freeway.
At OACC, author and curator Wendi Sia (additionally the co-founder of Gerimis Art Project) moderates Lens On Indigeneity with audio system Jeffrey Lim and Jefree Salim. Both photographers will speak about their work and draw parallels and contrasts of their strategy, visuals and consequence when documenting indigenous communities in Malaysia.
For a glimpse into the ideas and creativity of native filmmakers, head on over to the movie screenings at TDSC and OACC.
One of the movies, Liew Seng Tat’s Welcome To Kampung Radioaktif, is a tongue-in-cheek tackle the Lynas controversy, set in a post-apocalyptic Malaysian village the place those that can not afford to flee their ancestral properties have their lives turned the wrong way up, actually.
Independent candidate Tian Chua’s ‘Kerusi’ public set up, which was used throughout the current Malaysian General Election (for the federal constituency in Batu, KL), will likely be exhibited at KongsiKL throughout the Klang River Festival. Photo: Klang River Festival
In concluding, KRF’s artistic director and KongsiKL president Joseph Foo says that for hundreds of years, the river has been an vital a part of life for a lot of Malaysians.
“We have been blessed by the resources in and around the river for generations, however many city folk have turned their backs to the river for development. It is time now for us to reconnect with the river.
“We hope that this festival will inspire and educate through the arts, to bring awareness of the river’s rich cultural heritage and the importance of recreating a sustainable ecosystem by the river for our future generations,” he says.
For the pageant programme and extra info, click on here.
