KL art scene converges

Malaysian arts consultancy Our Art Projects is starting 2017 with a bang as it launches its own gallery at Kampung Attap in Kuala Lumpur.
The gallery, also called Our Art Projects, will be located in a row of restored 1950s interconnected shophouses that once housed the Selangor Zhongshan Association, among other merchants.
OAP is helping to transform the building into a creative hub with the support of a grant from Think City, an urban-regeneration organisation.
Neighbouring tenants will include the Malaysia Design Archive, the Ricecooker Archives, the Tandang Store, Bogus Merchandise, Artist Studio and the Reading Library by Amateur Collective.
“Most of the tenants will be having their first ever physical space here,” says Snow Ng, one of the gallery directors. “It’s an exciting project, since the entire building will be a centre for art, design and research.”
Visual art will get the spotlight first when the gallery opens this month. Its inaugural exhibition will be “Great Leap Forward”, featuring the work of Nirmala Dutt, who died on December 5.
“Nirmala was really one of the pioneering contemporary artists to explore the role of artist as a social commentator,” says Ng. “Moreover, her artistic concerns also mirror what we recognise as art, that inspire us to think critically about the world, about the country and about our society.”
Nirmala, born in 1941, emerged in the late 1960s and enjoyed a career that spanned documentary photography, painting, silkscreen, collage and public art.
Established in 2013, Our Art Projects focuses on identifying and representing important practices in Malaysian art, with an emphasis on emerging and mid-career talents. It also aims to introduce significant art practices that have emerged in neighbouring countries.
Ng adds that the gallery will hold talks and workshops, as well as exhibitions from senior and young artists alike. These will include a showcase of veteran Wong Hoy Cheong and an exhibition of prints by upcoming artist Mark Tan.
“I hope the gallery can raise more awareness and appreciation for old and new forms of art and also encourage critical thinking,” says Ng.
The rest of the tenants of the building will be opening shop in stages starting next month.
The Malaysian Design Archive, which maps the development of local graphic design, will share a space with the Ricecooker Archives, previously known as the Ricecooker Shop, which dealt largely in punk-music records.
The Archives will include a mini-museum, library and info-shop of Southeast Asian rock ’n’ roll artefacts and documentation.
“For the Malaysian Design Archive, this new space will continue what we do online and we’ll benefit from having a physical space,” says Ezrena Marwan, one of the founders. “Documenting and researching Malaysian design through the generations will remain our central focus.”
The Tandang Store, an independent record shop, will be opening its second outlet at in early February.
“This new store will be open daily and in regular work hours,” says Alak Idle, one of the owners. “The space is bigger and we’ll be working hard to fill it up with all kinds of music – punk, reggae and dub to Southeast Asian obscurities and non-mainstream indie releases.”
The Tandang Store will be sell vinyl, cassettes, CDs, fanzines and DIY merchandise. Alak adds that the original shop at the concert venue Rumah Api in KL will be maintained but will only be open during weekends and gig nights.
“There is a lot of coolness about this shophouse – so much fresh energy coming from the art community and the design activists,” says Alak. “So it’s great that there is a music destination like the Tandang Store in the mix. You need some noisy neighbours!”
 IF YOU GO 
-The OUR ArtProjects@Zhong-shan building is at 80 Jalan Rotan, off Jalan Kampung Attap in Kuala Lumpur.
- For more information, visit www.OurArt- Projects.com or the “ourartprojects” Facebook page.