Held for five weeks every year across multiple venues in Kuala Lumpur and greater KL, the programme of performing and visual arts in each year of DiverseCity will showcase the complex, rich and nuanced diversity of Malaysia and explore our close ties and deep relationship with the ASEAN community.
The Official Festival Launch Ceremony will be held on Malaysia's National Day on 31 August 2016. From 230pm, the Centre Court, Lower Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square will host a variety of performances including a mobile phone orchestra with Ng Chor Guan of Toccata on the theremin, syair singing, street dancing by Alam-ak as well as the opening day of the Dirgahayu photography exhibition.
Dirgahayu photography exhibition
31 August 2016
Featuring the works of acclaimed Malaysian photographers Rahman Roslan, Ahmad Yusni and Hasnoor Hussein and curated by Rahman himself, the photographs exhibited are linked by the theme dirgahayu – a wish for longevity.
Festival Hub
1 to 30 September (Tuesdays to Saturdays only)
Live in Kuala Lumpur! Dmitry Maloletov
19 to 20 September 2016
Russian guitarist, composer, writer and producer Dmitry Ivanovich Maloletov is one of the few guitarists in Russia who has mastered the unusual "independent two-handed tapping" guitar technique. He is also the author of the one and only Russian-language textbook on the application of piano-like technique on electric guitar, which comes with an audio app.
Main Zapin
1 October 2016
The Official Festival Launch Ceremony will be held on Malaysia's National Day on 31 August 2016. From 230pm, the Centre Court, Lower Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square will host a variety of performances including a mobile phone orchestra with Ng Chor Guan of Toccata on the theremin, syair singing, street dancing by Alam-ak as well as the opening day of the Dirgahayu photography exhibition.
Dirgahayu photography exhibition
31 August 2016
10am to 10pm
Lower Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square
1 September to 2 October 2016
1 September to 2 October 2016
10am to 10pm
Level 3, Avenue K
Featuring the works of acclaimed Malaysian photographers Rahman Roslan, Ahmad Yusni and Hasnoor Hussein and curated by Rahman himself, the photographs exhibited are linked by the theme dirgahayu – a wish for longevity.
Festival Hub
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| Source: DiverseCity 2016. A work by Zac Lee. |
11am to 7pm
Shalini Ganendra Fine Art @ Gallery Residence
Serving as a festival hub for the first time, Shalini Ganendra Fine Art hosts a variety of exhibitions, including the works of mixed medium artist Zac Lee, sculptor Anniketyni Madian and PavilionNOW 2016 - a shadow garden installation by Ar. Eleena Jamil, alongside workshops, talks and more. The PavilionNOW project celebrates local architecture and design talent, and challenges local talent to create beyond conventional definition and perspective, as well as provide a stage set for performances throughout DiverseCity 201
Andy Warhol: Social Circus by The Ryan Foundation
2 to 19 September 2016
Serving as a festival hub for the first time, Shalini Ganendra Fine Art hosts a variety of exhibitions, including the works of mixed medium artist Zac Lee, sculptor Anniketyni Madian and PavilionNOW 2016 - a shadow garden installation by Ar. Eleena Jamil, alongside workshops, talks and more. The PavilionNOW project celebrates local architecture and design talent, and challenges local talent to create beyond conventional definition and perspective, as well as provide a stage set for performances throughout DiverseCity 201
Andy Warhol: Social Circus by The Ryan Foundation
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| Source: DiverseCity 2016. Warhol. |
12pm to 9pm
Slate@The Row
For the first time in Malaysia, a rare collection of Andy Warhol Polaroids of the world’s biggest actors, artists and fashion designers from the 1970s and 1980s will be on display during DiverseCity 2016. The brainchild of lawyer and art collector Ryan Su, Andy Warhol: Social Circus is the largest collection of Andy Warhol Polaroids to be shown in Malaysia and Asia. These Polaroids not only demonstrate Warhol’s influence as an artist and society figure, but are the source material of the famous silkscreen portraits that are valued in the millions today. Visitors to Andy Warhol: Social Circus will be transported to Warhol’s studio The Silver Factory to experience a physical manifestation and contextualisation of Warhol’s Polaroids.
The Enchanted Forest by Sandra Lee
3 to 25 September 2016
For the first time in Malaysia, a rare collection of Andy Warhol Polaroids of the world’s biggest actors, artists and fashion designers from the 1970s and 1980s will be on display during DiverseCity 2016. The brainchild of lawyer and art collector Ryan Su, Andy Warhol: Social Circus is the largest collection of Andy Warhol Polaroids to be shown in Malaysia and Asia. These Polaroids not only demonstrate Warhol’s influence as an artist and society figure, but are the source material of the famous silkscreen portraits that are valued in the millions today. Visitors to Andy Warhol: Social Circus will be transported to Warhol’s studio The Silver Factory to experience a physical manifestation and contextualisation of Warhol’s Polaroids.
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| Source: DiverseCity 2016. The Enchanted Forest. |
The Enchanted Forest by Sandra Lee
3 to 25 September 2016
10am to 5pm
Ruang by ThinkCity, 3rd Floor, OCBC Building
Step into The Enchanted Forest, a new commission by Sandra Lee. Look out for characters such as Little Red Riding Hood clad in a sarong kebaya (traditional dress worn in Singapore and Malaysia) with a basket of ang ku kueh (red tortoise cakes), and Hansel and Gretel dressed in traditional Malay costumes. Lee also places the characters among attap houses, shophouses, public housing flats and other familiar sights as her tribute to these different architectural features found in Southeast Asia.
Meraki (Moghul Miniatures) by Ami
31 August to 2 September 2016
Step into The Enchanted Forest, a new commission by Sandra Lee. Look out for characters such as Little Red Riding Hood clad in a sarong kebaya (traditional dress worn in Singapore and Malaysia) with a basket of ang ku kueh (red tortoise cakes), and Hansel and Gretel dressed in traditional Malay costumes. Lee also places the characters among attap houses, shophouses, public housing flats and other familiar sights as her tribute to these different architectural features found in Southeast Asia.
Meraki (Moghul Miniatures) by Ami
31 August to 2 September 2016
11am to 7:30pm
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre, Menara Sentral Vista
Meraki is a collection of painstakingly-created miniature paintings on paper and faux ivory exploring the themes of love. Indian miniature paintings present to us a layered world of meaning. They can vary greatly in size—from not appreciably larger than outsized postage stamps to being close to a metre in height. Ami’s Indian miniature paintings try and capture the spirit of bringing together humanity and divinity.
Sarawak Borneo Exotica
2 September 2016, 8:30pm
3 September 2016, 2:30pm and 8:30pm
4 September 2016, 11am
Dataran DBKL (near the Kuala Lumpur Food Truck Feast)
Enjoy Sarawakian music and dance performances, featuring culture from communities such as the Kenyah, Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Melanau and Sarawak Malays, as well as modern and world music played with traditional Sarawakian musical instruments.
The 4 of Us
16 September 2016
Meraki is a collection of painstakingly-created miniature paintings on paper and faux ivory exploring the themes of love. Indian miniature paintings present to us a layered world of meaning. They can vary greatly in size—from not appreciably larger than outsized postage stamps to being close to a metre in height. Ami’s Indian miniature paintings try and capture the spirit of bringing together humanity and divinity.
Sarawak Borneo Exotica
2 September 2016, 8:30pm
3 September 2016, 2:30pm and 8:30pm
4 September 2016, 11am
Dataran DBKL (near the Kuala Lumpur Food Truck Feast)
Enjoy Sarawakian music and dance performances, featuring culture from communities such as the Kenyah, Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Melanau and Sarawak Malays, as well as modern and world music played with traditional Sarawakian musical instruments.
The 4 of Us
16 September 2016
8pm to 9pm
Shalini Ganendra Fine Art @ Gallery Residence
The 4 of Us Vocal Quartet, comprising Malaysian friends Kathleen Roshene (soprano), Jacqueline Teng (alto), Andrew Sanjay George (tenor) and Wilson Tan (bass), will delight fans of choral music with an hour of a cappella singing.
The 4 of Us Vocal Quartet, comprising Malaysian friends Kathleen Roshene (soprano), Jacqueline Teng (alto), Andrew Sanjay George (tenor) and Wilson Tan (bass), will delight fans of choral music with an hour of a cappella singing.
Live in Kuala Lumpur! Dmitry Maloletov
19 to 20 September 2016
8:30pm
Experimental Theatre, The National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (ASWARA)
Russian guitarist, composer, writer and producer Dmitry Ivanovich Maloletov is one of the few guitarists in Russia who has mastered the unusual "independent two-handed tapping" guitar technique. He is also the author of the one and only Russian-language textbook on the application of piano-like technique on electric guitar, which comes with an audio app.
Main Zapin
1 October 2016
8:30pm
Panggung Anniversary
The National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (ASWARA)’s ever-popular Main Zapin showcase with styles representing many of the states in Malaysia, including Zapin Putar Alam, Pekajang, Sebat, Terengganu, Salor and more, performed by 12 professional dancers.
Jual Ubat: Dari Stesen ke Stesen Monodrama Tour
4 September 2016
The National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (ASWARA)’s ever-popular Main Zapin showcase with styles representing many of the states in Malaysia, including Zapin Putar Alam, Pekajang, Sebat, Terengganu, Salor and more, performed by 12 professional dancers.
Jual Ubat: Dari Stesen ke Stesen Monodrama Tour
4 September 2016
8:30pm to 10pm
KTM Kuala Lumpur
The powerful monologue Jual Ubat is performed and directed by actor Khalid Salleh, who is one of only two Malaysians to have won the Best Actor award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival. This nationwide tour makes its stop in Kuala Lumpur as part of DiverseCity 2016. The drama delivers multiple critiques from the viewpoint of an insignificant person - a street medicine vendor - who is observant not only of the social issues, but also the political deprivation, racial struggles, as well as the subsistence of Malay-Muslims. This performance features a rendition of songs inspired by poems (Lagu Puisi) by Adinda Amiro and Sani Sudin as the opening act.
KL Le Park
24 September 2016
The powerful monologue Jual Ubat is performed and directed by actor Khalid Salleh, who is one of only two Malaysians to have won the Best Actor award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival. This nationwide tour makes its stop in Kuala Lumpur as part of DiverseCity 2016. The drama delivers multiple critiques from the viewpoint of an insignificant person - a street medicine vendor - who is observant not only of the social issues, but also the political deprivation, racial struggles, as well as the subsistence of Malay-Muslims. This performance features a rendition of songs inspired by poems (Lagu Puisi) by Adinda Amiro and Sani Sudin as the opening act.
KL Le Park
24 September 2016
9am to 7pm
Panggung Anniversary
KL LePark gathers various art forms into one single event including literature (book trucks and poetry performances), music (alternative and indie bands), visual arts (paintings and caricatures) and design (t-shirts, DIY).
Interested?
KL LePark gathers various art forms into one single event including literature (book trucks and poetry performances), music (alternative and indie bands), visual arts (paintings and caricatures) and design (t-shirts, DIY).
Interested?
Explore the full list of events or book tickets. Group discounts are on offer until 25 August 2016, and there are also concession tickets for eligible groups.
