Youth Arts Camp 2019: Creative Expression, Local Inspiration

A day before the Youth Arts Camp (YAC) 2019 Showcase, it was the usual chaos and nerves. Students, facilitators and the production crew ran around Chowrasta wet market, making sure everything was in place for tomorrow. There were spontaneous rehearsals in every corner, calls for scissors, paper and more tape could be heard as each student rushed to put final touches to artwork, displays, speeches and performances.

After eight days of intense workshop-ing, it finally came time to present to the public what they have all been working on this while.

YAC this year involved three workshops with a mixture of students from seven schools. Each workshop specialised in an art form, lead by an artist-facilitator. Students used various hands-on experiences to research elements in Chowrasta market. Artist-facilitators and facilitators were trained in the Engaged Arts Model before running their respective workshops. Using that model, they planned, designed and executed workshops for a total of 59 students.

Macam-Macam Market (Comic Drawing)

Lead by: Azmi Hussin, Archana Divi Pillai and Lim Ye Shi      

Students research the unique businesses in Chowrasta Market via naturalistic observation, photography, interviews, service learning activity and life-sketching. Students are given the opportunity to connect with vendors and customers, understanding the people, process, product, history, customer service and future plans of the unique trades. Based on their findings, students produce a compilation of comic-based products.            

Getting to know Chowrasta

Visual notetaking - what's so special about Chowrasta?

Getting to know the comic artist and art form

Sketching based on photos taken from research

Service learning session with selected vendors

More interviews, observations and actual doing!

Interacting with vendors and customers during service learning

Reflecting on their personal takeaways from service learning experience

Learning how to storyboard

Presenting draft and getting feedback

Showing vendors their drafts

Presenting their individual work to group members

After receiving feedback and making changes, it's time to ink!

Presenting final product - a comic zine inspired by Chowrasta vendors

On showcase day, the students showcased their comics of the three vendors they documented. This was followed by an optional tour to the vendor’s stall at Chowrasta. There was also a live sketch corner where people could get their portrait drawn on the spot!

Goyang-Goyang Iou Iou (Physical Theatre)

Lead by: Liu Yong Sean, SueKi Yee, and Nurul Shahira Jamalluddin

Students observe the daily interactions and behaviours between people at a supermarket and a wet market. Through their engagement with and observation of vendors, customers, and employees at these two sites, students form their own opinions about their experience there, producing an original physical theatre performance based on inspiration from everyday life.

Getting to their group members

First observation and interview with users of a wet market

They compared that with a shopping experience at a supermarket nearby

Discussing the differences

Processing their findings

Closer observation of gestures, expression, interactions onsite

Reproducing the movements convincingly

Applying principles of varying levels, speed, direction to the movements

Reflecting on the day's learnings

Learning about different dance styles

Choreographing their own set of movements

Storyboarding and putting it all together

Adding props

Incorporating dialogue

Rehearsing onsite

Preparing to present their exhibition material

Audiences were treated to a quick tour around the market, where students introduced them to the vendors they gained inspiration from. The students demonstrated how they turned everyday movement from the vendors into dance movements. The tour ended at the site of the physical theatre performance, addressing the tension between choosing between a wet market and a modern supermarket. After the show, audiences could learn more about the process of how the students turned their learning into a performance. They even had a mini workshop getting the public to try out converting some ordinary moves into dance!

Collect, Create, Conserve (Woodcut)

Lead by Shaiful Buhari Bin Ramli, Winnie Cheng and Chua Yi Qin

Students research single-use plastic at Chowrasta market. They observe and speak to vendors and customers, identifying attitudes towards plastic use, challenges in cutting it down, and alternatives in the past or future solutions. Using woodcut as a medium, they produce artwork that convey their learning.

Getting to know each other, forming groups

Heading to the site

First community observation and interview - single-use plastic in a wet market

Troubleshooting the interview process via roleplay

Brainstorming more in-depth questions for follow-up interview

Second round of interviews with vendors and customers

Processing the data collected at the site

Learning more about the life cycle of plastic

First round of sketching, learning to observe waste

Presenting their first sketch

Intro to basics of woodcut

Learning to incorporate illustration into typography

Design first poster based on principles of composition

Carving for the first time

First prints

Voting for the best slogan based on a few criteria

Refining their designs after feedback from facilitators

One design was chosen for the tote bag

After heading to the site one last time, groups present their poster designs

Design is printed on old tshirt. It is cut and knotted into a bag

Three other designs are incorporated into the large poster

Putting final touches to collective piece to be printed live

This team had the most products to showcase. Besides giving an informative tour of the effects of plastic usage, they also walked audiences through the woodcut process, allowing them to try carving and printing. Audiences could also hand knot an old t-shirt and take home their very own reusable bag, an alternative to single-use plastic. Finally, there was a live printing of students’ final artwork. Everyone could participate by stepping on the woodblock, singing rasa sayang while at it, and watching the masterpiece unfold.

Youth Arts Camp has been running annually since 2015 at Chowrasta wet market. It is part of Arts-ED’s Cultural Heritage Education Programme, run in collaboration with George Town World Heritage Incorporated.

Supported by
The community of Chowrasta Market Penang
JCI George Town
LUMA
IM Global Property Consultants
Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang
Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Timur Laut, Pulau Pinang
Penang Education Council
Penang Youth Development Council
Persatuan Penduduk Kompleks Jalan Kedah
Rukun Tetangga Jalan Kedah

Endorsed by
Penang State Government

---

Report prepared by Adeline Chua