Harmonizing the Streets for Youth
SangSaeng - No.61 | 2023
What is the meaning of “harmony”? What can we learn about ourselves and our identity as a society from the stories of the houses of worship at the Seberang Jaya Street of Harmony?
These were the two driving questions behind our recent Jelajah Harmoni (Journey of Harmony) Seberang Jaya programme. For someone living outside Malaysia, it might seem unusual to have various houses of worship in close proximity to each other. Yet there are several such “Streets of Harmony”—areas where various houses of worship can be found clustered together—scattered across the state of Penang. Which begs the question: why, then, the need for this programme?
Read More
Malaysian board game showcases rich tapestry of community life in wet markets
The Star- 4 July 2023
“When was the last time you went to the market?”
Far from a passing enquiry, the answer to this may just put you one step ahead in Bansan, the latest board game from arts and culture groups Arts-ED and LUMA.
Whichever player who has most recently set foot in a wet market or “bansan” in the local northern Hokkien dialect, is designated the starting player or market vendor in this fresh, new game that is based on Penang’s famed Chowrasta Market.
Read More
New Malaysian board game Bansan is inspired by local markets
Options, The Edge, 7 June 2023
Bansan is the brainchild of media artist-cum-video producer Goh, who spread the initial sketches on her bed and worked out the mechanics and playing experience through the pandemic. The game will be launched officially on July 15 at Penang’s Chowrasta Market during the George Town Festival; July 16, Seberang Jaya Market; July 18, Air Itam Market on the main island.
Designed for one to five players, it is inspired by the multisensory experience one encounters at a bustling local market. Players are vendors who bao ka liao (take charge of everything): deal with fellow vendors, wholesalers, customers and municipal council officers; buy and sell ingredients; and cook and serve a variety of hawker stall dishes, drinks and desserts.
Read More
Over 40 kids learn craft, significance of light at PPR
The Star; Metro News - April 2023
HARI Raya Aidilfitri at Jalan Sungai People’s Housing Project (PPR) is brighter this year, thanks to its residents. More than 40 children made over 100 star lanterns, which were hung at common areas and distributed to residents in the PPR. The children aged seven to 15 made the lanterns at workshops seven weeks before Hari Raya. There were 10 of these workshops, with some parents also joining in.
Non-profit organisation Arts-ED collaborated with local artisans to run these workshops as part of its community-based arts and culture programme called “Gempak 100”. This particular initiative was called “Nur. Light.” and was intended to rejuvenate a communal tradition.
Read More
‘Bansan’ captures the Malaysian market experience in board game form
BASKL, 26 August 2023
Board games are always an enjoyable way to spend an evening with friends. In recent years, many Malaysians have also created board games of their own that reflect local culture and aesthetics. Recently, Arts-ED has published Bansan, a board game inspired by Malaysian wet markets. Bansan is a Hokkien word for market commonly used in Penang and other Northern states. It literally translates to tens of thousands of mountains filled with goods.
Read More
Play As A Wet Market Vendor In The Bansan Board Game
BFM, 12 July 2023
Most Malaysians would recognise the bustling and unique atmosphere of a local wet market. What happens when this experience is incorporated into a board game? We explore this, with the creators of a local board game, Bansan (Hokkien for "wet market"), and hear about the process of capturing this experience in gameplay
Read More
Gempak 100: PPR children get kick out of the arts
The Star; Metro News - June 2022
CHILDREN living at the River Road People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Penang unleashed their creative side through an arts showcase called Gempak 100.
Their exciting “Wayang Bayang” and “Tari Gempak” performances that told stories about their lives at the flats received a positive response from the audience, who comprised family members, neighbourhood folk as well as outsiders. The children aged eight to 15 also put up a photography exhibition featuring interesting snapshots of surrounding areas.
Read More
Bringing the arts to the PPR community in Penang
BASKL; Lensa Seni - March 2022
Arts-ED, through its community-based arts and culture education programme, seeks to provide a platform for the youth in the PPR community in Penang through broad expressions of the arts.
Art is for everyone. But not everyone is born socially equal. Despite the fluidity and ubiquity of the arts, some social classes have limited or non-existent access to it, and this includes the B40 (bottom 40%) income group in Malaysia.
Read More
