ONCE AGAIN, HUMAN RIGHTS ARE BURNING UP OUR HEADLINES. Some want equal rights, some want special rights, some have gotten used to having no rights and just want the right NOT to have rights. So whose rights are right? As we celebrate an intensely cool weekend of Art For Grabs – Human Rights Day, brought to you by Amnesty International Malaysia and The Annexe Gallery, perhaps we can find a way to understand what human rights really are.
The art bazaar features the cute, the quirky and the crafty, everything under RM100 each, perfect for Christmas gifts or for yourself – it’s nice to be reminded that this country still has hope. Meanwhile, the fringe events offer a chance to be inspired by expression heroes, revolutionary artists, contemporary communes, radioactive filmmakers, protest singers and other human rights space travellers. Let’s assemble at The Annexe Gallery while we still can. And if we can’t, then we must!
ART FOR GRABS – HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Presented by Amnesty International Malaysia + The Annexe Gallery
Art Bazaar + Fringe Fest
Sat 10 + Sun 11 Dec 2011, 12pm-8pm
The Annexe Gallery, KL
ADMISSION FREE!
+ + +
SCHEDULE
Sat 10 Dec
12pm: ANNEXE HEROES 2011
2pm: CULTURES OF RESISTANCE
5pm: POSKOD TALKS
7pm: SABAH: SUBMERGING THE SACRED
Sun 11 Dec
12pm: SURVIVAL GUIDE UNTUK KAMPONG RADIOAKTIF
2pm: SINGALONG A PROTEST!
3pm: THE LIVES OF OTHERS
+
PROGRAMME DETAILS
Sat 10 Dec, 12pm
ANNEXE HEROES 2011: WHAT KIND OF HEROES DOES MALAYSIA NEED?
Presented by Amnesty International Malaysia & The Annexe Gallery
The Annexe Heroes is an annual Freedom of Expression Award recognising individuals or groups whose work has set a standard for how we understand freedom of expression, has shown why freedom of expression is important in Malaysia, has inspired many others to exercise their freedom of expression. They are nominated by friends of Annexe Gallery and voted by past Annexe Heroes. This year, co-presented with Amnesty International Malaysia and The Annexe Gallery, we are honouring 5 individuals or groups:
1. For single-handedly taking on the laws of the country that prevent the full expression of her identity.
2. For training Sabahan indigenous people in research, documentation and filmmaking.
3. For capturing the follies and irony of Malaysian politics through cartoon and reminding us the power of art in the critique of power.
4. For standing against tear gas and water cannons with nothing more than a flower.
5. For showing that Malaysians who care about our future must make a stand without fear of those who seek to silence us.
See if you can guess who they are. Come and hear what they say about why they do what they do, who their heroes are, and what kinds of heroes does Malaysia need.
+
Sat 10 Dec, 2pm
CULTURES OF RESISTANCE
Presented by Amnesty International Malaysia
In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change. This is their story. From IRAN, where graffiti and rap became tools in fighting government repression, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.
Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women’s movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanon’s refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...
Let's discuss what Malaysians artists are doing and can do to join this global movement for change.
More info:
http://films.culturesofresistance.org/about#synopsis
+
Sat 10 Dec, 5pm
POSKOD TALKS
Presented by Poskod.my
A showcase of ideas, insights and initiatives by local individuals, groups and organisations to make Kuala Lumpur a better city to live, work, play and collaborate. In spite of the complexities and challenges of our urban landscape, some individuals and groups have moved beyond intention into action, creating brave solutions and new possibilities for our city. This inaugural talk series explores how current community projects, cultural initiatives and businesses are making are our city more liveable and loveable.
Speakers:
1. NOVA NELSON is a producer of HEAR & NOW, a series of podcast that focuses on exploring the macrocosm of Malaysia through local stories, voices and images.
2. YEOH LIAN HENG is the founder and director of Lost Generation arts space in Kuala Lumpur. Since 2004, he has organised notthatbalai art festival, Kampung Anak Seni Berembang project, the Bangun Abandon project, and KL Pudu community art project.
3. JOAO NEGRO works in the field of live art since 1998 under different pseudonyms, operating between the mediums of theater, choreography and fine arts. In the last 2 years, his praxis focused in mapping the creative responses of communities within post-industrial locations such as Detroit, US and Heerlen, Europe.
4. PATRICIA LEONG represents So+Co, a collaborative and interdisciplinary design platform created with a mission to catalyze, inform, support, and to incubate innovative social mission work through Design Thinking.
5. FARHAN AZAHAN is the Chief Fun Officer (CFO) of Frinjan, failed product of the national education system. Frinjan is an arts collective that is one part commercial, one part culture, one part social change. Their motto is: “Kami bukan indiependen melainkan kami interdependen.”
6. FAHMI REZA is a social activist who is an active participant in Occupy Dataran, a participatory initiative to reclaim Dataran Merdeka as an open and democratic space for people to re-imagine the true meaning of democracy beyond the representative system.
+
Sat 10, 7pm
SABAH: DROWNING THE ANCESTORS
Presented by Agnes Agama & Global Diversity Foundation
Ulu Papar, a lush forested valley located deep inside the Crocker Range in Sabah, is the ancestral home of the Ulu Papar Dusun. In 2009, the Sabah state government announced plans to nominate the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. In this same year, the Sabah state government also announced plans to build the Kaiduan Dam, a mega-dam that would inundate the Ulu Papar valley. The fate of the Ulu Papar Dusun hangs in the balance. Fighting to be heard, they are tapping into the power of film and photography to tell you their side of the story. Come listen to Agnes Agama, regional coordinator for Global Diversity Foundation, and learn how we can fight the construction of the mega-dam that would destroy the Ulu Papar valley.
https://www.facebook.com/globaldiversity
+
SUN 11, 12pm
SURVIVAL GUIDE UNTUK KAMPONG RADIOAKTIF
Concerned about the potential dangers exposed by a rare earth processing plant near her hometown of Sungai Ular in Pahang, award-winning filmmaker Tan Chui Mui got together with three of her equally famous filmmaker friends, Liew Seng Tat, Woo Ming Jin and Yeo Joon Han, to make a series of short films, aimed at raising awareness of this issue. Come and talk to the directors and find out how you can get involved!
- LOVE DISH by Woo Ming Jin: “Don’t Worry, Be Hungry.”
- WELCOME TO KAMPONG RADIOAKTIF by LiewSeng Tat: “(capitalist+profited+corrupted policy makers)=(mutants+you+me)”
- ORANG MINYAK XX by Yeo Joon Han: “Which of the following is not real? (a) Virgins (b) Heroes (c) Orang Minyak (d) All of the above.”
- LAI KWAN’S LOVE by Tan Chui Mui: “How much are you willing to give away for your love one?”
+
Sun 11, 2pm
SINGALONG A PROTEST!
By Azmyl Yunor & friends
Can you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? Won’t you help to sing, these songs of freedom? Oh deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day! You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. What are your favourite protest songs? Bring them along, share and also learn some protest songs with Azmyl and friends. You never know when you gonna need to sing them!
+
Sun 11, 3pm
THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Germany, 2006)
Part of HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUTER SPACE by SIS & CIJ
Winner of 64 international awards, this powerful psychological thriller shows us what it was like in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall. In the film, circumstances are forcing both the patriotic playwright who is under surveillance and the Stassi officer spying on him to find their inner conscience. But can their conscience still guide them when it is being controlled? Is the goal of limiting our human rights in the external spaces ultimately an attempt to limit us in the inner space of our minds? How do we resist the control?
Panelists: Alfian Sa'at (playwright-activist), Anne James (actor-activist), Kee Thuan Chye (actor, playwright, writer), Yin Shao Loong (political analyst)
+ + +
The Annexe Gallery
2nd Flr, Central Market Annexe
(Behind Central Market), KL
www.annexegallery.com
03 2070 1137
add photo
add video
add slides
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=317675268260699
