by Chris Chong Chan Fui + Yasuhiro Morinaga

Konichiwa! As we anticipate the theatrical release of Chong’s acclaimed debut feature, Karaoke, in our local cinema this 26 November, the prolific director/visual artist writes in from Japan, sharing with us his latest project, HEAVENHELL (2009), on reshooting the slum scene from Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963).

ARTERI bukan Kakiseni versi 2.0, bukan kingmaker bahkan tastemaker, bukan wakil ‘apakah penting dalam seni dan budaya’ bagi mata dunia atau sesiapa pun.

Interview with Kota Kinabalu-based tattoo artist Bobby James: ‘Cheap tattoos are not good. Good tattoos are not cheap!’

First in a series of conversations we’ve been having with tattooists around KK and KL. They’re some of the most laid-back, no-nonsense and positive artists we’ve ever met.

by Bill Nguyen

The culturally and historically significant landmark of Hanoi, Long Bien bridge, was transformed into a spectacle of arts and festivity. Concerts, performances, lion dance, ethnic parades aren’t necessarily meaningful forms of engagemnet, as our Vietnam correspondent muses and responds.

by Simon Soon

ARTERI is nine months old. Some thoughts on how we work and where we are heading.

by Eva McGovern

KL graffiti collective TLG is getting some love from ARTERI. Here’s a shout out on some of the video documentations of their work in this fair city of ours.

by ARTERI

What is the function of the contemporary portrait painting in Malaysia? How does it reveal how we see ourselves and those around us? Stop by 67 Tempinissatu and find out for yourself.

by ARTERI

National Budget 2010: The allocation for ‘Creative Industries’ is one of the biggest ever – RM 200million. Short on time and resources, we’re putting here the relevant excerpts from the budget speech. We urgently invite debate, comment and any extra information you may have.

by Silent Wall Project

A group of passionate people started The Silent Wall project to document the famous Pudu Jail murals. They managed to capture the entire wall before demolition works started, which they also recorded.

In their own words and images, they talk about the wall and what it means to them.

By Eva McGovern

Editorial thoughts on ARTERI, the good, the bad and the fugly.

Art as laboratory: SiCKL is Studio in Cheras KL, an experimental art space run by a group of multi-disciplinary artists.

I speak to SiCKL co-founder Kok Siew Wai about experimenting, playing and uncertainty – things I wish I saw more of in art, Malaysian or otherwise!

by Sharon Chin

Walls, stones and dust.

Thoughts on the destruction of Pudu Prison.

compiled by ARTERI

Over the next three months, with author Kam Raslan as co-curator, Instant Cafe House of Arts and Ideas (CHAI) present a series of public programmes, conversations, performances & film screenings all around the theme of history. Here is a listing of their programme for the next two months.

Interview with Bilqis Hijjas: Who else should we approach for a more qualified primer on the state of contemporary dance in Malaysia?

by Simon Soon

On Malaysia Emerging Artists Award (MEA): I’m not necessarily a fan of art competition, but the kind of media attention, spectacle and drama that surround an art award (the stuff that art purists would balk at) form the appealing recipe for creating the much needed buzz and encouragement to introduce new comers into the heady, treacherous yet occasionally rewarding art life.