Objectives & Directions
The following are the objectives which the J.S.P.A. had in mind in proposing an annual arts festival in Johor Bahru:
- To ensure that Johor will not be left behind in the development of the performing arts
- To create, encourage and develop a civil society that appreciates the arts; a balanced development
- To make the performing arts accessible and affordable to Johorean
- To make Johor Bahru a significant performing arts centre in Malaysia
- To provide a showcase for local Johor and Malaysian talents
- To act as a catalyst for the development, promotion and advancement of the performing arts in Johor
The 8th JB Arts Festival 2011 – DIRECTION
CONTINUITY
Lessons have been learnt and experiences gained through the organisation of seven (7) festivals. These have led to the adoption of certain strategies to be adopted for the 8th edition of the festival.
Some of the strategies to be adopted are geared towards achieving the following objectives:-
i. Attracting and increasing the participation of young people.
Last year’s festival saw a last minute inclusion in the Festival programme. The organisers decided to dedicate a day during the festival (16th July) for youth activities. The day began with a flea market and ended with an indie concert. Throughout the day, there were also extreme sports such as skate boarding with acrobatics, bicycle football, fringe music events, hot air balloon rides, souped-up cars, and others. The whole day event attracted about 10,000 mainly young people to the festival village, the majority within the ages of 15 – 25.
The organisers observed that young people were more interested in programmes that they consider relevant to their present interests and lifestyle and their participation in activities was significantly higher for events held during the weekends. As such, the organisers will continue to opt for a more intimate and interactive festival programme for the young during the weekends for the duration of the 8th festival thus providing the young with a platform for their creative and artistic expressions. The organisers firmly believe that investing in the young people of today will pave the future success of the annual JB Arts Festival.
ii. The Arts Festival as a platform to expose the young to traditional culture and other disciplines of the performing arts.
At the Fringe Festival held in previous festivals, the organisers have noted that young people did not appear to be keen or attracted to traditional, cultural offerings. However it was also noted that the chances of young people attending such peformances was higher if it was held during activities specially catered for them.
This was evidenced by the turnout at a lion and dragon fringe performance prior to the indie concert of the 16th night.
careful management of the festival programmes, it is possible to expose them and encourage them to participate and appreciate other mainstream and cultural performance on offer. As such, the organisers intend to include in this year’s programme, a well thought out juxtaposition of cultural programmes on every Saturday night for the duration of the 8th festival coinciding with the weekend programmes for the youth.
This would also be in line with our aspiration to increase the standards of the performing arts with the creation of a thriving creative economy without compromise and also ensuring the preservation of our cultures and traditions.
iii. Main performances to be held on weekdays.
Main performances offered at the Main Festival have their own following albeit small at the moment there is a discernible trend observe over the last few festivals of growing new interest. This is reflected in the modest increase in attendances for main performances over the last few festivals. As such the organisers believe that the main performances will have the audience whatever day of the week it is held – not necessarily on the weekends.
iv. The Festival Village concept to continue.
The organisers will continue with the concept of the Festival Village to, as far as possible, centralise the activities and programme at the Festival Village for the duration of the festival. Given the current state of performing arts development in Johor Bahru and the concept of an annual arts festival being a relatively new idea for the Johor public, there is a need to create awareness of the festival. The organizers believe that for the moment, the adoption of the Festival Village concept would be the most appropriate.
v. Continuing support from the state government crucial.
The organisers believe that the success of the annual arts festival in Johor can only come about with the continued support and sponsorship of the Johor State Government, the corporate community and the people of Johor.
The funding and institutionalising of the annual JB Arts Festival with a full-time Festival Secretariat and paid full-time staff and officers remain the single-most important objective for the organisers and is critical for the survival of the annual JB Arts Festival in the future.
THE DIRECTION FOR THE 8TH JB ARTS FESTIVAL 2011
The 8th JB Arts Festival will be held from 1st to 23rd July 2011.
2.1 The Fringe Festival – all weekends during the duration of the 8th JB Arts Festival 2011
i. This year’s Fringe Festival would include collaborations with the activities conducted by the Malay community,
community, usually held at the temple in Jalan Ungku Puan and the Chinese community which organises activities every Saturday night on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
ii. The four (4) weekends for the duration of the festival will be dedicated to youth programmes which will also integrate
the cultural and heritage programmes at Jalan Ungku Puan, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and at the Festival Village on Saturday
nights. The organisers hope that this will serve to introduce the young to cultural and heritage programmes without the
‘forcing it down their throats’ perception.
iii. Programmes for the Fringe Festival will consist of:-
International Presentations:
a. Presentations from Sri Lanka, Singapore and possibly India, Indonesia and Japan.
Local Presentations:
b.the Urumi Drums (a youth group activity of the temple), a Silamban demonstration (Indian martial art
demonstration) and a Kolam demonstration by the Indian community at Jalan Ungku Puan.
c. Odissi and Indian Folk Dances by the students of the Temple of Fine Arts Johor.
d. Chinese cultural activities by Persekutuan Tiong Hua Johor Bahru at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
e. Traditional Malay dance;
f. A kaleidoscope of Malaysian cultural dances at the Festival Village
g. An Indie Bands concert, a rave party, a singer songwriter’s concert, drums and percussion concerts at
Festival Village.
h. Music, Dance and Drama workshops and clinics by main festival artistes.
i. Other activities which could include a graffiti wall, skateboarding demonstrations, rock climbing introduction, bicycling, etc.
2.2 The Main Festival – weekdays
a. This will follow the organiser’s original objectives of the annual festival to showcase all the disciplines of performing arts which would encompass music, dance and theatre, both traditional and contemporary.
THE NEED FOR EARLY & INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE 8TH JB ARTS FESTIVAL 2011 and beyond…
The organisers do feel that they sound like ‘a broken record’ but it cannot be overstated that the seven (7) festivals organised to date have faced one common problem – late and insufficient funding.
With increased funding and early availability of funds, the organisers hope to be less hampered in their efforts to reach out to the public and promote the festival more aggressively thus ensuring even greater success for the 8th edition of the festival.
With increased funding:-
i. the organisers can continue to at least maintain, if not improved the standards and quality of the performers
appearing in the Festival.
ii. the organisers can hope to have sufficient funds to increase the advertising and promotion programme to promote the festival to countries within South East Asia and beyond with the aspiration of the annual festival making it an event marked on international calendar and becoming a potential value-added tourism draw for Johor Bahru.
iii. The organisers can better improve on the artistic programme for the annual festival to include performances – cultural as well as contemporary – from within the region as well as globally.
COMMITMENT
The organisers remain steadfast and committed to bringing performing arts of the highest quality to the people of Johor and other attendees to the festival.
Report dated 30th March 2011
Prepared by Suzie Yap – Festival Director
