MUSEUMS have always been both window and mirror: they provide a lens into our society while also functioning as a way to reflect upon our own lives.
They have played an outsized role in shaping culture, often with political purpose; the National Palace Museum in Taipei forms part of Taiwan’s claim that it is the “real China”, while the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts presents what it considers to be works exhibiting the “national character” of the country.
In Southeast Asia, such institutions have usually been dominated by the State, pushing a certain narrative forward.
That situation is quickly changing, with what may be a cultural movement sweeping the region.
In the past decade, numerous private contemporary art collections open to the public have sprung up: The MACAN in Jakarta, Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, The Factory in Ho Chi Minh City, the MAIIAM in Chiang Mai, as well as Bellas Artes and the Pinto Museum in Manila, amongst others.
Featuring regional artists and tackling themes that resonate with their local contexts, these museums are putting Southeast Asian art and issues into the spotlight.
For instance, the MAIIAM held a bold exhibit on representations of the Patani region—a place fraught with long-standing tensions between Muslims and Buddhists—capturing images of life in Southern Thailand.
While funded by wealthy backers (case in point: the MACAN is founded by Haryanto Adikoesoemo, president of the chemicals and logistics company AKR Corporindo while the Pinto is the collection of Dr. Joven Cuanang, the former director of the private St Luke’s Medical Centre), these new institutions have been characterized by their outreach to the public.
Entry into Ilham Gallery and Bellas Artes is free of charge while admission to the other museums don’t cost much more than a regular movie ticket.
All of these venues also regularly host programmes. The MACAN has a more educational agenda with guided tours, drawing sessions, and family-centric events. On the other hand, Ilham draws on broader cultural streams to include music performances, academic talks, and film screenings.
Well-curated and conscientiously designed, these spaces also offer places of contemplation away from the overwhelming energy of the city.
Some of them, such as the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo an hour away from Manila, are so inviting that they have become hotspots for couples looking for an idyllic weekend.
Likewise, the sleek and welcoming MACAN is so popular that the museum must employ crowd control at times.
In today’s social media crazy society, it goes without saying that the art gallery is also a magnet for the avid Instagrammer seeking to participate in a bit of culture.
These developments come in an environment where contemporary art has often been regarded as indulgences driven by elites.
While class divides remain, the teams behind these sites have made every effort to be accessible to the general public.
This is a vast improvement over the at best, underfunded and at worst, downright inept government-run art programs. One is reminded of the fiasco at last year’s KL Biennale, when heavy-handed censorship prompted seven artists to withdraw from the show.
In contrast, the relative freedom of expression provided by these private initiatives has been refreshing.
For example, Bellas Artes is currently displaying an exhibit by Filipino artist Cian Dayrit that highlights the history and mythology of the Ayta Magbukun community of Bataan, an indigenous people who have been deeply marginalized.
Last year, Ilham Gallery also featured art by and about migrant workers. These voices from the periphery are given a platform that otherwise would be ignored by more conservative curators.
Each of these spaces has their own bent and together they provide a compelling array of lens into Southeast Asia. These narratives are not disparate; on the contrary, they interact with and enrich one another.
For instance, this coming March, the Pattani Semasa exhibit is traveling from Chiang Mai to the Ilham in Kuala Lumpur and in the context of Malaysia—where the question of the Thai border and Muslim Thais has always been politically sensitive—the works will be viewed in a different light.
The institutions and their programming challenge ourselves to ask: What does it mean to be Southeast Asian?
In this manner, these public spaces are democratizing our collective identities.
Where national institutions reaffirm the status quo, these places provoke us to question ourselves.
By featuring a diversity of voices, the new spaces offer a more expansive, ground-up and rooted perspective into our region.
They push us to reassess ourselves, to not be complacent, to think: virtual laboratories of identity.
Karim Raslan
Mon Feb 05 2018
Bellas Artes is currently displaying an exhibit by Filipino artist Cian Dayrit that highlights the history and mythology of the Ayta Magbukun community of Bataan. - Ceritalah/Ong Kar Jin
Proses penamaan calon berlangsung 9 pagi ini
Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) membuka tirai hari ini dengan bermulanya proses penamaan calon di Dewan Serbaguna Dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor.
Penunggang motosikal berkuasa tinggi maut nahas
Mangsa lelaki berusia 34 tahun yang bekerja sebagai pemuzik di DBKL meninggal dunia di tempat kejadian.
Bebaskan pasaran buruh dari perangkap gaji berasaskan kelayakan akademik - Penganalisis
Malaysia harus beralih ke arah penetapan gaji berdasarkan kompetensi pekerja.
Raja Charles III sambung tugas awam minggu depan
Raja Britain, Raja Charles ketiga akan meneruskan tugas awamnya minggu depan setelah cataT perubahan baik dalam rawatan kanser. Baginda akan memulakan dengan lawatan simbolik ke pusat rawatan kanser.
Demonstrasi pro-Palestin di kampus universiti AS
Demonstrasi pro-Palestin tercetus di beberapa kampus utama Amerika Syarikat. Pelajar menuntut gencatan senjata kekal dan menekan Washington untuk menamatkan sumbangan dana tentera kepada Israel.
Dakwaan Israel: PBB masih siasat 8 individu
Pasukan Khas PBB menutup satu kes dan menggantung tiga kes berhubung dakwaan terhadap 12 petugas UNRWA yang terlibat dengan Hamas, susulan kekurangan bukti dari Israel.
Hamas mahu gencatan senjata bersyarat
Hamas komited kuatkuasa gencatan senjata dalam perang dengan Israel, namun dengan syarat yang dituntut.
Penghidap kanser tulang impikan telefon bimbit
Siti Zubaidah, calon SPM yang mengidap kanser tulang, bercita-cita memiliki telefon bimbit untuk merakam kenangan sebelum pergi. Petronas merealisasikan impian ini melalui program 50 Dreams.
Malaysia seru pihak terlibat supaya bertenang dan minta siasatan dijalankan terhadap isu kemanusiaan di Gaza
Malaysia seru semua pihak yang terlibat supaya bertenang dan menghentikan tindakan provokatif yang boleh memburukkan lagi konflik di rantau Asia Barat.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu bermula hari ini
PRK DUN Kuala Kubu Baharu dimulakan hari ini dengan proses penamaan calon di Dewan Serbaguna dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor. Calon dari parti serta calon bebas boleh serahkan borang pencalonan mulai jam 9 pagi.
Ceritalah: Sejarah berulang dengan gunung berapi Taal
Pemandangan ketika Taal meletup dan imej-imej semarak debu yang besar dan menakutkan naik ke arah langit diiringi dengan kilatan guruh dan petir yang disebarkan ke seluruh dunia oleh media sosial.
Ceritalah: Tuntutan China atas Laut China Selatan - ASEAN harus bersatu
Pada tahun 2016, pemimpin-pemimpin dunia memandang Beijing dan beliau sebagai suatu hab alternatif - bagi suatu pendekatan terhadap ekonomi dan politik global yang berprinsip dan seimbang.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Joko Anwar: Cemerlang atas usaha sendiri
Tarikannya dan citra jenakanya menyembunyikan suatu minda yang amat bekerja keras dan berfokus.
Ceritalah - Perang dadah Duterte: Rakyat suram sambut Krismas
Kerana enggan kekal diam dan menerima takdir berdarah anaknya, Normita terpaksa meninggalkan rumahnya dan sekarang tinggal bersama seorang sanak saudaranya di bahagian lain bandar itu.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Aung San Suu Kyi: Lannister atau Stark?
Aung San Suu Kyi dari Myanmar - anak seorang jeneral, mengetuai sebuah negara amat rapuh telah menjadi musuh Tatmadaw (tentera) untuk menjadi apologis atau, lebih teruk lagi, pemudah mereka.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Plastik: Patut dikekalkan atau dihapuskan?
Gabungan pendapatan dari 50 firma petrokimia teratas dalam tahun 2018 adalah ASD926.8 bilion, jauh melebihi industri penapisan berjumlah ASD400 bilion.
Ceritalah Indonesia - Jawa: Mengenai bahasa dan perpaduan
Secara berasingan, kesemua tujuh presiden Indonesia mempunyai darah Jawa - termasuk BJ Habibie kelahiran Sulawesi yang baru meninggal. BJ Habibie adalah separuh Jawa.
Ceritalah - Enam hari di laut: Suatu pelayaran di atas Nggapulu
Dari saat para penumpang menaiki feri lapan tingkat itu, Nggapulu menjadi suatu mikrokosmo republik itu sendiri.
Ceritalah Indonesia - Anak muda memberontak: Apa mereka mahu?
Antara 23 dan 30 September, Hamzah adalah salah seorang daripada ribuan pelajar yang membuat bantahan di luar Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) menghidupkan semula ingatan pada waktu Reformasi.
Ceritalah: Gelombang kemasukan pelancong India ke Asia Tenggara
Sementara ekonomi India mungkin menghadapi kemerosotannya sendiri, pelancong dari gergasi Asia Selatan itu menjadi kuasa yang semakin perlu diiktiraf di rantau Asia Tenggara.