CAN Malaysia’s art and culture scene be turned into a bigger economic contributor on the global stage? Some of the key voices in the art scene seem to believe so, as indicated at a forum held after artist Ali Nurazmal Yusoff kicked off his latest art show Artconomics last weekend in Kuala Lumpur.
That said, they also believe there is a long way to get to that point. For Artconomics project director Amin Sufian, there needs to be a solid economy in place first.
“We first need to have a good economic plan, as everything comes through the economy and how well it is developed. From there, it has to be merged with cultural appreciation, as it correlates to it,” said Amin, who was also the forum’s moderator.
To appreciate the culture behind Malaysia’s art, its history has to be looked at. For those in attendance, The AFK Collection curator Zena Khan briefly ran down the rich history of the local art scene, particularly contemporary art.
“In Malaysia, the contemporary art movement emerged as artists were making art that was reflective of a dynamic and specific environment as Malaysia developed about 20 years or so after independence,” she said as one of the forum’s three panellists.
“You can think of the 1980s as the emergence of a contemporary movement. I often refer to it as a slow-burn, where you have the movement emerge, pick up its pace and in the 1990s, it really exploded.”
