THE Drama & Visuals Department of New Era College present the Kajang Community Art Carnival -- an effort by the college to revive interest in Kajang as a “Cultural Town”, as it was noted as way back when in 1948. The carnival happens in conjunction with New Era College’s 10th anniversary, and Dr. Won Oi Min, curator + artistic director of the project and lecturer in the Drama & Visuals, feels that a community outreach project like this just sort of came naturally.

“The college is actually built on what used to be the site of a school known in English as the Chinese Immigrant School, and Kajang was known for being the base of the Avant Garde Theatre Company. The knowledge that Kajang used to be home to so much culture and art made me feel like it’s our duty to do something to honour the town’s heritage. We, as a department, should do something to give back.”

The project consists of three phases. The first phase is a call for submissions, asking artists to participate in the project, and at the same time raising awareness about Kajang’s cultural history. Then, in the second phase (which is happening as you read), the selected artists spend two weeks in Kajang schools with a group of children each. During this period, they work with the children to create some kind of artwork or performance representing the theme “My Hometown, Kajang”.

The selected artists are Machiko Watanabe and Jun Uematsu from Japan, Ng Chong Leong, Chan Han Fei, Aisyah Baharuddin, and Goh Chiu Kuan.

Yours truly made the long haul to Kajang to check out what the six selected artists are up to, and find out what they’ve learned about the Cultural Town. This week we present interviews with two of the artists. Watch this space next week for Part 2!

Go to the next page for the interviews.

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Chan Han Fei is the Director of Fei Dance Studio. Inspired and instructed by Mr. Wong Kit Yaw, she began dancing in primary school. Among the performances she’s been involved in are Solo in Blessing, and The Legend of Huminodun.

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Tell us about yourself.

I’m from Serdang, and I came here to play with kids. The workshops I’m running as part of this carnival don’t deal with very serious, amazing issues. The issues are actually quite common, things that the kids already learn about in school, but I deal with them in a different way.

What way is that?

We play a lot of games. I want them to learn that art is simple and fun, not just difficult and serious. I’m trying to teach them that art comes from living, so they shouldn’t be grim all the time. Artists aren’t the only ones that need to know this, kids do too.

So how are you working with the kids on the themes of the carnival -- My Hometown, Kajang and Revive Our Cultural Town?

There are a lot of ways to talk about Kajang, but the kids helped me decide. The first thing I asked them was “What do you think of when I say the word ‘Kajang’?” And they all said “Satay!” and “Roti Canai” and different kinds of food. And in the list of foods, you can see that they named dishes from different cultures, especially Mamak dishes, Chinese, and Malay. From this, I could tell that the kids already have a sense of Kajang being a multiracial and multicultural town.

How are you tying this knowledge of Kajang dishes into the carnival?

In the form of movement and dance. I’m working on a dance with the children, to make the pageant more cheerful, more happening.

Are the movements inspired by anything in particular?

Yes, the kids are giving me lots of ideas from food. Because they know a lot about local food, the dance touches on it a lot. For example, I asked them how the uncles in the Mamaks make Roti Canai, and they do big sweeping hand gestures, and we derive movement from that.

How do you think the kids are enjoying the workshops?

I think they love it. In school there are too many rules. They don’t get many chances to show off their creativity, so they’re enjoying this opportunity. The other day I gave them newspapers and asked them to make models of anything they wanted, and the results are fascinating. At first the models seem simple-minded. You know, there were hand-bags and things like that, and one boy made a gun. So I asked him, “Why did you make a gun?” and he said, “So I can protect my friends.”

How do the teachers feel?

I think they’re impressed. They know that the kids are creative, but they still think they need rules. For the most part, I agree with them. Kids voice out their needs by actions, and when you don’t lay down some ground-rules, the kids can get out of control.

What’s you greatest hope for the carnival?

I hope the Kajang community joins in. It would be great if all the Kajang locals could get together and voice out how they feel about their town, and just come and see the artwork their own kids are capable of.

What do you hope the kids can take away from this experience?

Well, I want them to learn about their hometown, and learn what their town is all about, but I also want them to learn how to have fun. Art can be fun!

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Go to the next page for more interviews.

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Goh Chiu Kuan is a self-taught artist. He’s especially passionate about pottery, and his work focuses on portraying the beauty of cultures and nature. In 2002 he was selected to represent Malaysia in the 4th ASEAN Youth Camp in Myanmar, where he was presented with “Best Youth” award.

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Tell us about yourself.

I’m 27 years old, and I’m from Teluk Intan, Perak.

How did you get involved in the Kajang Community Art Carnival?

Well, I got the information from my former teacher. She told me that New Era College is doing a program, would I be interested? At first I didn’t even know it was a festival! I thought they were just looking for a resident artist for the program.

So, I called the Drama & Visuals Department at the college, and asked them about the program, and they told me to check out Kakiseni (the official media sponsor). So I checked out the website, sent in my resume, and waited around for the organizers to call me back, which they did, to tell me I was selected.

Why do you think you got selected?

Me? Maybe I’m just lucky.

That’s a lot of luck for one so young.

No, actually, I think it was because my resume was impressive. As in, I have a lot of previous experience.

“Previous experience”? Ooh, do tell.

Well, I handled a workshop at the National Art Gallery of Kuala Lumpur, and I do community workshops to promote Malaysian art. These workshops are open to everyone, you know? Not just for specific ages or target groups.

So what got you interested in the Kajang Community Art Festival?

Well, it’s my job, doing workshops. I like conducting workshops, especially community based ones.

How do you feel about the whole concept of the festival?

Well, before our first meeting, none of us really knew what we’d have to do. So, at the first meeting, when Dr. Wong told us that the theme for the pageant was My Hometown, Kajang, and the theme for the carnival was Revive Our Cultural Town, immediately I decided I had to corroborate these titles.

The only problem was that I didn’t know very much about Kajang, so how was I going to learn about the town? Who was going to tell me? The only people I have to work with me are the children, so what am I going to do?

How’d you solve the problem, then?

I started thinking, if I were a native of Kajang, how would I feel if someone asked me “do you know Kajang?” How would I answer? I asked myself this question first, then I asked my students. None of them could answer the question. So I did a little more thinking, and I thought that the one thing these kids should definitely know about is family, so I decided to start there.

So I asked the students to create their family trees. But I didn’t want them to simply draw something, I wanted them to go home and ask their parents. Spend a few minutes with them and talk about their family and their heritage. I think it’s one of the most important things for a child to do, but nowadays everyone is so busy that parents sometimes don’t even spend a minute a day talking to their children. A lot of the children knew their parents had jobs, but they didn’t know what their parents’ jobs were.

So I asked them questions. After they found out who their grandparents and extended family are, I asked them to find out about their lifestyles. How did their grandparents live? How did they end up in Kajang? I asked the children why they were living in Kajang. What brought their family there? When they answer these questions, they’re not only learning about Kajang themselves, but they’re also teaching me.

How did the kids handle the questions?

In our first workshop, when I first asked them questions like “why are you here (in Kajang)?” and “What is Kajang?” they were so worried. I already knew that they couldn’t answer the questions, but I wanted them to realize they didn’t know the answers. That’s why before the workshops I gathered all the parents and asked them to try to help their children. I told them that when their kids come to them with questions, they have to answer them. Without their parents, they’ll never learn about their hometown.

So what came after the initial family trees?

Once they had their basic family trees, the second stage was for them to go home and write or draw anything about the tree and their ancestors’ lifestyles. So when all this was done, I asked them, “Now, do you still worry about people asking you where you’re from?” They said no, because they know about their hometown now. They know how their family came to live in Kajang, why they are in the town they are in.

So, now that they have all this knowledge, I’ve asked them to draw. They’re all drawing very interesting things -- like, how their parents met, what their grandfather did for a living, things like that. And at the same time, I get to learn how Kajang “happened”, so to speak.

What’s happening to all their drawings?

Now, using their drawings and ideas, we’re going to create a story. By linking all their research and ideas and histories together, we hope to create a “Kajang Story”.

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Yasmin Zetti Martin writes for Kakiseni.

“The Return of Culture Town – Kajang Community Art Carnival 2008” is initiated and presented by New Era College’s Drama and Visual Arts Department. Click here for more information.

Photos by Tan Wei Haw.

*Kakiseni is the official media sponsor for this event.