1 Aug 2021 — by Dinesh Kumar Maganathan
The past 18 months has seen the Malaysian performing arts and theatre scene shaken to the core. With arts and culture venues shut at the moment, there has been little to talk about in terms of new productions and theatre performances.
Apart from Zoom sessions and talks, it looks like a handful of arts-focused websites have also started to reorganise their virtual content, adding new pandemic-era survival info and helpline directories to aid recovery efforts in the arts community.
There might be some overlapping content or causes, but it’s good to find the virtual arts “hubs” here alive and well, with many of them tuned in to the challenges of the day, and working with their communities to improve things in these difficult times.
Here’s our pick of arts sites you should check out:
Penang Art District
In these pandemic times, this Penang state government initiative has an important role to play in promoting arts recovery projects. The aim is to restore vitality to the arts and culture scene in George Town and Seberang Perai, while also adding on international creative exchanges and homegrown collaborations.
Through an accessible site, Penang Art District team scores points in keeping its audience – arts enthusiasts and tourists – constantly updated about its on-site and virtual programmes.
A new and relevant addition to the website is the senang.art initiative. Considering how artistic exchange has shifted online the past 18 months due to the pandemic, this online platform was created solely to promote Penang’s arts community digitally.
This one-stop centre serves as a space for Penang artists, creators, and creative businesses to connect with each other and with their audience. They also get to showcase their work and portfolio, join creative communities and get discovered.
More info here.