Month-Long Arts And Culture `Splendour` During KLFest 2010

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - KLFest is here again and the month-long festival that began in 2006 will 'curtains up' on Sunday June 27th at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa here.

The launch leads to the month-long July 'splendour' comprising 115 arts and culture events with the participation of both the locals and foreigners.

Foreign missions in the country will also contribute their programmes in the effort to 'sell' their arts and culture to Malaysians.

The programmes scheduled will portray the vibrant celebration of Arts, Culture and Heritage. The activities are to be held at various landmarks in the city namely Istana Budaya, Central Market, Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower besides the scenic Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

Director-General of the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Datuk Norliza Rofli said the KLFest which is in its fifth edition is aimed towards uniting the older and younger generations in preserving the national heritage.

This will become a catalyst towards the development of the local creative industry, she said.

Programmes for KL Fest 2010

The joint organisers of this year's festival are the Information Communication and Culture Ministry, Tourism Ministry as well as the Federal Territory and Urban Wellness Ministry.

Norliza said the festival would focus on the projection of Malaysia as a cultural and recreational hub.

And this will surely place Malaysian artistes involved in the festival on a higher cultural pedestal and platform especially when the festival puts Malaysia on the map where arts and culture is concerned, she said.

The JKKN is the secretariat for 2010 festival with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall giving full cooperation to ensure the objectives of making culture and arts the way of life in Malaysia, allowing its growth and survival.

"The last four festivals from 2006 to 2009 showed consistent rise in the total number of visitors taking part in the activities held. Every year, July happens to be a good month for the tourism sector in this country. Some 210,000 visitors made the statistic charts in 2006.

"In 2009, the number grew and saw a 100 per cent jump. More than 445,000 people took part in the activities held then. A very promising factor! The festival did reach out to not less than five per cent of our tourists," Norliza said.

This year, the 5th KL Festival promises a better coverage of the arts with 73 activities arranged for the Performing Arts section involving theatre, music and dance as well as 27 other activities in the visual arts section.

The remaining 14 activities have been lined up for traditional games and heritage section, as well as other recreational and tourism-based activities.

Private Sectors’ Contribution

The big surge in the number of activities arranged for KLFest 2010 is due to the good support from the corporate sector. The corporate firms made their apperance as sponsors in the 2009 festival.

"This is surely the best way forward. We welcome this bold step, ever so necessary to encourage a more conducive work together between the public and private sectors from now on.

"KLFest 2010 will be the benchmark to healthier contributions to society," she said.

Big and small organisations and business entities have pledged their space and activities to fit into the month long arts and cultural festival.

They include various art galleries, theatre and dance groups, as well as foreign cultural centres other than Canon which is the main sponsor for the 'Ella and the National Symphonic Orchestra' concert on the 1st and 2nd of July.

"They are not given any extra funds from the Ministry, instead they get the best of coverage and publicity by being part of the festival," said Norliza at the pre-festival launch briefing here recently.

The JKKN will be arranging for the staging of 20 art and cultural activities out of 71 initiated by the government sector while the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KL PAC) will be managing 10 activities of similar interest and nature from the private entities.

Among the Malaysian traditional arts staged in the 5th KLFest are the Mak Yong, Bharatanatyam and Chinese Opera.

On a more contemporary note, there is fusion of styles and genres, performances by rock groups and artistes including Ella, Hujan, Bunkface and Zainal Abidin and his 'Alam' concert, as well as the traditional Gambus and Orang Asli group, that is expected to draw the crowd from all walks of life.

More information on the month-long KLFest 2010 is available on www.klfestival.org.my website. (Hazlinda Hamzah)

Source: http://www.bernama.com
Picture: http://www.aisa.ne.jp

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