Press Release for Blending of Blood, A Unity Project

Press Release for "Blending Of Blood‟, A Unity Project
Date : 25th May 2O11 (Wednesday)


GEORGE TOWN FESTIVAL 2O11

The George Town Festival is a month-long celebration of the inscription of George Town on UNESCO‟s World Heritage Listing on 7th July, 2OO8. Scheduled to be an annual event, the Festival opens as a feast of theatre, music, dance, film, art, opera, food, fashion, photography, and inspirational talks.
The primary objective of the George Town Festival is to provide a platform to promote arts and culture to engage all stakeholders to work collectively with the common aim of increasing the multiplier effect on Penang‟s economy. The Festival acts as a catalyst to advance art and heritage education, promotes dialogue, and encourages mutual understanding between different urban communities, past and present.
The 2O11 Festival will feature over 8O programmes which promote ARTS and HERITAGE in Penang, made possible with the concerted effort of the Penang State Government, Municipal Council of Penang Island, George Town World Heritage Incorporated, Penang Global Tourism and the various communities of Penang.

UNITY PROJECT

Penang has 1.6 million people, more on the island. The population is largely composed of Chinese, Malays and Indians. This diversity of different ethnic backgrounds in Penang has contributed to various types of ethnic mixes which exists now. Penang also has a sizeable expatriate population, many of whom who has decided to call Penang home. Blending of Blood is part of an ongoing Unity project started in 2OO9 by Shahram Entekhabi, Joe Sidek and WL Project in collaboration with Museum & Gallery Tuanku Fauzan, USM, George Town Penang.
The Photographic Society of Penang has previously collaborated with us on the Blending of Blood project. For George Town Festival 2O11, we are honoured to have onboard with us the internationally renowned art and museum curator Marina Betist (Blending of Blood) and internationally acclaimed visual artist/ art director Drew Harris (Characters). Both of them are continuing the effort to showcase the uniqueness of our complex diversity in our ethnic backgrounds of Penang by exhibiting a images of these individuals.

9O, Armenian Street, 1O2OO George Town, Penang
Tel No: +6O4-261 63O8 ∙ Fax No: +6O4-261 63O5 ∙ Email: info@georgetownfestival.com

Exhibition on Portraits of Penang: Little India

The works of Ooi Cheng Ghee are truly a hidden gem for those who appreciate the value of history and culture of bygone Penang.

Entitled “Portraits of Penang: Little India”, this book is printed in a beautifully designed large format and comprises of 160 black and white images taken way back in 1979.

“During that time, Penang was facing an economic slump.

“The urban centre was facing a downward spiral, and that was why I took to walking the streets to see for myself the extend of the decline,” explained the doctor who admitted the experience as an eye-opener.

Ooi’s photos, accompanied by essays and commentaries by Gareth Richards and Himanshu Bhatt tells a soulful and heartfelt tale through the lenses of a dedicated and accomplished hobbyist who is also an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society in the UK.

The images reflect a particular historical moment when the Penang free-port status had just been revoked and the Indian enclave was undergoing a difficult transition.

Armed with a Leica camera, Ooi spent an entire year documenting Little India in a poetic and intimate manner.

“It took many visits before I started to be aware of the sparks of vitality and activity which I had initially missed,” he said.

Many of his pictures detailed the daily lives of the people and captures the essence of Little India like “a slice in time” .

“I feel like a custodian to a piece of history, and I want to give it back to the people,” he added.

Among the images that are selected from the 4,000 shots that were captured are images of the betel nut industry and buildings that have long been demolished.

The picture of a bespectacled Indian man holding a cup of teh tarik with a face-towel draped casually over his shoulder was chosen for the book sleeve design over others as the image represents everything that need to be conveyed – an Indian man for the Indian community; the teh tarik as the most common drink of every Malaysian; the towel as is commonly used during those times; and most importantly the reflection on the spectacles which portray the reflection, volume and depth of the story that the photographer wished to express.

This book project which took 5 years to complete has a foreword to the book written by Andrew Sheng who says that ‘this is not only a work of art; it is a personal statement by an observant and intuitive artist, perceptive of the moods and sensitivities of a culture that is living’.

The combined launch of the exhibition and book will take place on 12 May 2011. The first launch will be outside the offices of the Malaysian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 5:00 p.m. followed by a procession through the streets of Little India. The second launch will be at Galeri Seni Mutiara in Whiteaways Arcade, Beach Street at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition will be declared open by HE Vijay K. Gokhale, High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, and will be on display until the end of the month.

This event is sponsored by Think City as part of its Penang Story project, Penang and the Indian Ocean, which also features a series of events associated with “Celebrating Tagore in Penang”.