WANTED: Someone to restore Arteri and give it 2nd life. Interested? Email: mail.sharonchin.com
The announcement that FINDARS Space will be closing in a month’s time is disappointing news for many of us who crave for greater experimental platforms that are as accessible as Findars, which was conveniently located in the Annexe building of Central Market. As the Annexe undergoes a process of gentrification, of which The Rice Cooker (punk, D.I.Y. and independent collective) and THEY Art Studio (graffiti collective) have already been ejected, we are left unsure if the Annexe building will ever be the same again.
FINDARS growth and increasingly maturity in terms of its programme is something that we at ARTERI found to be extremely admirable. What started off as a desire, from a bunch of local arts graduates, to start running their own programmes and take matters into their own hands have developed into a platform for trying things out and play, a hub for the local ‘avant-garde’. Perhaps their most important contribution is their ability to bring together a big cross section of the Malaysian art community who value experimentation and inter-discplinary collaboration.
FINDARS became more than just a visual art space. With Rain Project, Performance Lab and SicKL’s Improv Lab as well as a sleuth of other programmes such as ad hoc performances as well as talk programmes by visiting curators, FINDARS catered to a void in the art scene. As a new arts collective and space that have emerged merely a year ago, ARTERI has observed its tremendous growth not just in terms of audience development but also content. Their maturity is reflected in their ability to absorb and bring in other collaborators, resulting in collaborations that are powerful and at times, arresting. They prove that experimentation does not necessarily mean that a work is shoddy.
Last Friday’s Performance Lab at Findars Space featured renown artist/poet Rahmat Haron and Poodien as well as Taring Padi member Exicrot, is a good example.
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(SS)
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As the Annexe undergoes a process of gentrification, of which The Rice Cooker (punk, D.I.Y. and independent collective) and THEY Art Studio (graffiti collective) have already been ejected, we are left unsure if the Annexe building will ever be the same again.
After speaking to the relevant party who are cognizant of the future direction of the Annexe building, I would like to emphasise that the above statement regarding the ‘gentrification’ of Annexe is a personal opinion.
It is my opinion that in the coming year, what we come to understand as the Annexe would have been very different than what it was before. This does not necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. Things change all the time, change is inherent in the Malaysian art world, a world where the art infrastructure is still weak and audience, small. This issue will probably be explored in a future article and it is an area that warrants indepth research.
Also, many would not agree to the term ‘eject’ being applied to the eviction of the Rice Cooker (who did not comply with building regulations) as well as THEY ART Studio (who are behind in rent). Artists collectives often face the insurmountable task of combating against the lack of resources, what more an urban environment where the cost of operating a space in a location that is conveniently accessible is extremely high (in the independent art scene standard la).
Maybe part of why a number of mourn for the old annexe is because it was simply bloody convenient. Everyone could get there. It’s not everyday you could find a space like that.
I agree there are cycles of gentrification and ghettozation but the term genetrification is applicable. Excuses like rent and building codes could have been totally negotiated if the management was sympathetic to the scene and understood the value of culture instead of pure economics. Furthermore, the replacement for They and Rice Cooker could have been other arty shops instead of the chi-chi resto types.
To assume that the crowd were there simply because of convenience, hmmm…well yeah, materials for another article.
lots of shops and bizness flout building codes and are behind on the rent lots of the time, without having to be turfed out a la NX. So unless those managing and/or running these spaces understand how building public momentum and critical mass can thwart such short-sighted rule-keeping, artists will forever be held hostage by short-term commercial priorities, which are usually at odds with the aims of art spaces.
Dulu di Annexe selepas renovation me and my friends used to lepak at the rice cooker shop and also the infamous bau-bau kafe memang kool lepak di sana.
Kalau dgr cerita-cerita dari uncle aku pule…yeah we use to hangout at CM. It used to be our pot or we say now hub hahah! It was exciting then before the renovation took place and now it happen again
well thats the story…myb I will tell the next gen pulak ;)
I wonder what the rainbow folks think about this gentrification…
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
“Also, many would not agree to the term ‘eject’ being applied to the eviction of the Rice Cooker (who did not comply with building regulations)”
Perhaps i should enlighten what ‘building regulations’ were not approved of by The Annexe Management…
x 4 Orange PVC chairs
x 4 1970’s orange PVC chairs were left outside Ricecooker shop to encourage people to hang out.
We believe ‘hanging out’ to be the principle numero uno, most-important-thing-ever for any community.
Anyway, every night the cushions of said chairs were brought into the shop. The skeleton of the chairs were left outside cause they’re damn heavy. These chair skeletons were deemed ugly. And yes, they were not ‘pretty’ but we believe in re-using old furniture and not buying new ones. And in our opinion said orange chairs were funky and cool and encouraged hanging out.
The Management did not like these eyesore orange chairs and did not like the pile of cigarette butts that followed the community who sat in said orange chairs.
Ricecooker were really slack in sweeping up said cigarette butts.
Basically The Manangement did not like the Ricecooker Shop. Or perhaps they coveted the space as they have now turned it into their Management Office to serve the arts community better.
Regards,
Co-Owner, The Ricecooker Shop
PS: There are now no more chairs in the Annexe building to hang out on anymore :-( you have to go buy a coffee at Old Malaya or sit on the steps.
Sorry thats wrong
“Perhaps i should enlighten what ‘building regulations’ were not approved of by The Annexe Management…”
Should read:
“Perhaps i should enlighten what ‘building regulations’ Ricecooker langar-ed.”
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