By Eva McGovern

How aware are we of the influences of State urban planning on the creation of identity? Like it or not the positioning of infrastructure – housing, hospitals, schools, transport and government networks all inform individual and public consciousness. Where we live, where children go to school, where we shop and who we do all of this with is a carefully crafted construct designed by public and private individuals.

by Rahmat Haron

Aku peduli apa. Inilah jalannya Art of desperation! Inilah titik masuk ‘entry point’ yang akan membawa berbagai kehadiran, beragam kemungkinan dan berencam kebarangkalian ke ruang pemerintahan (dominion) SENI atau keakraban masyarakat SENI atau ekonomi SENI atau politik SENI atau sebab musabab SENI atau asas kewarasan SENI atau agama SENI atau kegilaan SENI – bagaimana dan apapun yang ingin difahami.

by Wong Hoy Cheong

A little background: I was rather excited by the polemics and arguments that emerged from Simon Soon’s review of Marion D’Cruz’s performance lecture. While I might not agree with many of the things said, they nevertheless were invigorating and challenging, especially when polemics in the discussion on art and culture are rare and few.

by Sharon Chin & Zedeck Siew

Messrs Fahmi Chin, Sharon Siew, and Zedeck Fadzil respectfully present Assembly Yr Own Story, a romp of Literary Genius and Artistic Magic. Mix and Match from 28 Hand-Crafted pages of Thematically Linked text and illustration to Construct Your Own Narrative! It’s got Extraterrestrial Encounters, Wildly Uninhibited Passion, and Socially Engaged Iconography! Simply Amazing!

By June Yap

A process-based performance collaboration between writer and performer Verena Tay and interdisciplinary artist Noor Effendy Ibrahim that explores the conflicted sense of belonging and identity of a contemporary Chinese Singaporean woman coming to terms with the fast-changing landscape that she grew up in – the text written on the performance for its publicity material.

by S.M.K. Seri Kembangan Fighters

Finally, our fight caught the media’s attention, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong has come to see us, our actions can be viewed in YouTube. Cool. We are the SMKSK rockstars. The ‘victim’ is a science stream student, we are the filthy-faulty-frantic delinquents from the art stream.

by Zahirah Suhaimi

In light of recent arrests under the name of ISA (Internal Security Act), the launch of Singaporean publication, Our Thoughts Are Free, could not have come at a more apt, or darker, time. The book is a collection of poems and prose written by victims who have suffered under the draconian enforcement of the Singapore Internal Security Department and/ or forced to live in exile, dragged and casted away from the country they lived for, fought for, faced internment for and willing to die for.

by Zedeck Siew

Finding myself at a loss one afternoon during the Umno general assembly, I decided to take a stroll through PWTC. I passed the entrance to Merdeka Hall, where speeches and sycophancy continued, rounded the corner – and, lo and behold, discovered a painting exhibition.

by Haseena Abdul Majid

Haseena joins Mit Jai-Inn last Saturday as one of his guest audience for his 12 hour long social performance. These are notes and impressions from her participation

by Zahirah Suhaimi

The Central Market area in Kuala Lumpur has always been bustling with local shoppers, artisans and curious tourists. Last weekend, this creative hotspot was especially crowded with the KL Alternative Book Festival and Art for Grabs happening at the Annexe Gallery.

by Alex Yong

At last! ARTERI finally harassed intrepid gallery-goer Alex Yong into documenting his exhibition adventures for us. First up is Nurazmal Yusoff’s Satire in Paint which opened at Pace Gallery on 6 May 2009. For now, this series of posts is called ‘Whose who?’, which is sorta punny, but we know you can think of something better.

by Simon Soon

Marion D’Cruz’s lecture performance takes a new generation of arts supporters back into the heyday of theatre/dance/visual art/literary/education collaboration, reliving the Five Arts recipe that was borne from a sincere drive towards a multidisciplinary approach in art practice.

by Simon Soon

The Voyage To The Ends Of The World is an internalisation of the mythical heroic journey (think Joseph Campbell’s idea of the monomyth), using the photographic medium to convey the emotional weight associated with an abstract passage towards self discovery.

by Tan Zi Hao

I’ve been in Serdang since I was a toddler.

Serdang didn’t spare much democracy in aesthetic sensation. The basic spatial structure was either moulded by the past colonist or the insensitive modern developers. It is called forced architectural identity, also a malady of creativity. But it hasn’t been an issue; artists Perng Fey and Wing are both creative persons from Serdang. This was pretty new to me two years ago, I was delighted.

by ARTERI

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat has just been detained under the Sedition Act, for his writing and for initiating the 1Black Malaysia campaign. The aim of the campaign was to get all Malaysians to wear black on 7 May, in protest against Barisan National’s apparently unconstitutional take-over of the Perak state government.