PROJECTS WITHIN THE PROGRAMME 1. WALKS Historical Walkabout (30th Oct & 1st Nov 2001) Discovery Walkabouts (For teachers: 24 Mar & 13 Apr 2002; For Students: July-Aug 2002) Heritage Discovery Walk (23 Mar – 30 Aug 2003) 2. CREATIVE ARTS WORKSHOPS 2001 T-shirt Design & Printing (Design: 25th-27th Oct 2001; Printing: 3rd-8th Nov 2001) This T-Shirt Design workshop began by exposing students of an inner-city school to the tangible and intangible heritage of inner city George Town through a historical walk. Students were then given lessons in ink drawing using lines and shapes, and subsequently went on to create designs for an AAK T-shirt using motifs inspired from their walk. Three of the best designs were selected to be screen printed with the help of INTEC College Penang as AAK T-shirts. The artiste-facilitator for the project was Goh Hun Meng, assisted by facilitator Katharine Joan Chua. Woodcarving & Furniture Restoration (I) & (II) (27th-31st Oct & 12th-15th Nov 2001) Dance- Movement in Inner City (I) & (II) (5th-9th Nov & 16th-21st Nov 2001) Music: Sound of Market Street (I) & (II) (5th-9th & 14th-19th Nov 2001) Visual Arts – Graphic Design Workshop (12th-16th Nov 2002) Videography: Heritage through the Eye of Video (20th-27th Nov 2001) Traditional games (Video 2) (20th-28th Nov 2001) Understanding Granite Relief Carving (28th Nov-1st Dec 2001) Motifs on Heritage Buildings Workshop (28th Nov-1st Dec 2001) Research Workshop – Heritage Conservation (3rd-7th Dec 2001) Exhibition & Showcase (23rd Nov-7th Dec 2001) 3. CREATIVE ARTS WORKSHOPS 2002 Illustrating Legends – based on wall carvings (Stories on the wall, Understanding Granite Relief Carving) (27th-31st May 2002) Traditional Games/Comics (Primary School) (May 2002) Video Workshop – Short Documentary on GT (26th-28th April 2002) Illustrations (Buildings / Street Life) Workshop (27th-31st May 2002) Photography (29th May-2nd June 2002) Signage Making for Traditional Trades (29th May-2nd June 2002) Exhibition & Showcase (1st-15th July 2002) 4. CREATIVE ARTS WORKSHOPS 2003 Videography “You Know Me, I Know You” (29th May- 1st June & 5th-8th June 2003) Photography “Through the Eye of the Camera” (31st May-7th June 2003) Children Illustration Workshop (Places of Worship) (6th-12th Sept 2003) Toys Design Workshop 1 & 11 (Traditional Games and Toys) (15th-23rd Oct 2003) Exhibition & Festivals : Arts & Craft Street Exhibition (28th & 29th Nov 2003) 5. CREATIVE ARTS PROJECT Aunty Uncle Stories (March-May 2002) Multi Arts Program (Dec 2003-June 2004) 6. RESEARCH Family History (21st-30th Nov 2001) Endangered Trades & Traditional Foods (12th-20th Nov 2001, Traditional Foods: 16th-27th Nov 2002, Endangered Trades: 13th-24th Nov 2002) Conservation Education Workshop (9th-25th Nov 2002)
This was a preliminary attempt at designing and executing the first historical walkabout for children in inner-city George Town. The walk was designed by Dr Hardy Shafie, a history lecturer from USM. A total of 63 students from four primary schools were taken on a tour of historical sites and buildings in the inner-city of George Town.
The Discovery Walkabouts were a series of subject-based interactive walks (on Art, History, Tourism, Language, and Geography) designed specifically for school teachers and students linking subject topics to heritage in George Town. Ten schools, with a total number of 335 children – recruited via subject teachers or school clubs – participated in the three-hour walks which incorporated hands-on activities such as interviews, demonstrations, group work, and documentation. The curriculum was designed by Arts-ED facilitators; Ang Bee Saik, Hardy Shafie, Ambiga Devi, Shamala Palaniappan, Cheong Ben Yee, See Tho Weng Yin, Mary Ann, and Irene Chin, and was coordinated by Katherine Chua.
This walking tour evolved from an earlier historical walk and was developed further to incorporate historical, architectural, and economic perspectives to migrant settlements in the inner city of George Town. A total of 399 students from more than 10 schools participated in the three-hour discovery walk which incorporated hands-on activities such as interviews, information hunts, group work, and documentation.
In this creative arts workshop, ten participants were taught basic woodcarving skills and produced a small plaque displaying traditional wood carving motifs. For the second workshop on furniture restoration, eight participants learnt about the different types of wood used to make furniture, as well as how to strip, lacquer, and restore heritage furniture. The workshop included fieldtrips to examine and learn traditional motifs and their symbolism, as well as the types and quality of wood and their uses. Led by artist-facilitator David Yeoh and assisted by facilitator art teacher See Tho Weng Yin.
Led by artiste-facilitator and choreographer Aida Redza, this creative arts had students closely observing traders operating in inner-city George Town, imitating their gestures and body movements as they worked, and incorporating them as dance vocabulary into a movement piece. The workshop was run twice; first with 23 participants from three primary schools in Penang, and a second time with young residents of the inner-city.
A creative arts workshop led by artiste-facilitator and composer Tan Sooi Beng; 21 primary school children were sent out to conduct research in a specific street in inner-city George Town, where they collected ambient street sounds, as well as the oral histories of street residents. The participants then used a variety of non-musical instruments or objects together with the collected sounds to compose a musical narrative which was supported by a pantomime.
In this workshop, artiste-facilitator and graphic designer Goh Hun Meng guided ten participants on the basics of making traditional signboards. Participants began with a guided walk to study a variety of multicultural signboards used by traders in inner-city George Town, and identified the different types of boards, scripts and colours used and how they were sized and positioned. They then selected and interviewed street vendors who needed signboards and proceeded to design signboards to suit their needs putting into practice the graphic art skills learnt.
In this creative arts project, a group of primary school children from the inner-city studied techniques of video shooting under the guidance of artiste-facilitator Loh Kok Beng. They then proceeded to make a video documentary on the oldest market in George Town which was slated to be relocated, in order to document the heritage building before it was closed down. Participants mapped the layout of the market, conducted interviews with vendors, and created a storyboard as part of the documentation project.
This workshop was aimed at documenting traditional games recalled by older generation residents from different cultural groups in George Town. A small group of students conducted interviews on the games, with elderly residents. Students then replayed the games and captured them on video, guided by facilitator Ho Sheau Fung.
A creative arts workshop studying the carved granite carvings on the walls of a Chinese clan house temple. Students under the direction of artiste-facilitator Mak Yat Chee were introduced to the history of the clan house, and the symbolism and mythological stories related to the carvings. They then analysed the myths for their moral messages and reinterpreted the myths using comic drawings.
This project introduced young participants to decorative motifs found on the façade of heritage buildings in inner-city George Town, and the symbolism and visual elements within the motifs. The project included a historical walk and hands-on activity of obtaining rubbings from relief carvings on doors and pillars. Led by Ms Chong Lin Lee, an artist facilitator from INTEC College.
13 primary school students were taught how to identify different typology of heritage shophouses in the inner city of George Town built in different periods of history and different elements on the facade of shophouses. Students also used photography to document the various architectural features. Their documentation of shophouse types and their own school building was re-presented in the form of large posters.
An annual showcase consisting of exhibitions and demonstrations by students involved in AAK projects throughout the year 2001. Performances and demonstration on Day 1 including shadow puppet shows, story-telling, music, dance, craft and toy making. The exhibition component of children’s artworks, interpretation brochures and creative products continued for 15 days in the Syed Alatas Mansion (Pusat Warisan) on Armenian Street. Children started off the event by cycling around with flags.
This workshop was a repeat of a creative arts workshop from 2001 studying the carved granite carvings on the walls of a Chinese clan house temple. Students under the direction of artist-facilitators Ang Bee Saik and Seetho Weng Yin were introduced to the history of the clan house, and the mythological stories the carved into the façade of the temple. They then analysed the myths for their moral messages and retold the stories in the form of drama and comic drawings, scroll box storytelling and puppetry
Participants aged between 9 and 12 years revisit the comic books on 4 traditional games documented by an earlier cohort of AAK participants in 2001 ; The students learnt how to play each game and studied the steps and rules carefully to produce a new set of comic books illustrating each of the 4 games; Rumah Terbakar, Tarian Buluh, Guli, and Konda-kondi. The illustrated comic books were published and sold as an Arts-Ed product.
A 4-day video program facilitated by Ambiga Devi on making documentary video which included the basics of handling the video camera, scripting, shooting and editing. Students produced short 3-5 mins flicks on heritage topics.
A 6-day illustration/drawing workshop facilitated by artist-facilitator William Chong with 15 participants from 7 schools, aged between 10 and 14. The workshop incorporated a study of heritage buildings, pen and ink and watercolor illustration techniques. 12 illustrations were selected for publication in the form of Arts-ED calendar in 2003 and again in 2009. The participants’ artworks were also exhibited in the annual 2003 AAK showcase.
A photography workshop led by artist facilitator Hitori Nakayama, for primary and secondary school students. The photographs focused on heritage buildings in the inner city of George Town and their unique facades. Selected photographs were later reproduced as a set of postcards, designed by Goh Hun Meng and sold as an Arts Ed product.
The second of a series of creative arts on traditional signboards led by graphic artist Goh Hun Meng. Having studied a variety of signboards, students proceeded to look for and engage with traders in the inner city who needed to advertise their products or shop. Working closely with the specific needs and cultural aesthetics of their clients students produces a few very original signboards and presented them to the traders.
An annual showcase consisting of exhibitions and demonstrations by students involved in AAK projects throughout the year 2002. Performances and demonstration on Day 1 including scroll-box, drama, puppetry, story-telling, music, dance, craft and toy making. The exhibition component of children’s signboard and photography artworks, interpretation brochures and creative products continued for 15 days in the Syed Alatas Mansion (Pusat Warisan) on Armenian Street.
11 children aged 10-14 from inner city George Town open their homes each other in a unique 10 day video documentary project led by artist-facilitator Bernard Chauly. Students were taught camera handling and storyboard making skills before they researched and scripted a screenplay about their homes as a living residential space within the historical inner city. Each participant (aided by their peers) produced a short video clip.
A second photography project led by artist Hitori Nakayama. A small group of student aged 14-19 learnt photography from through self-discovery techniques. After being introduced to camera techniques and to the site via a walk, students independently took photos on the theme of living and build heritage and conducted peer evaluation. By the end of the 8-day workshop students produced a body of work which was exhibited at a month-long exhibition at the Pusat Warisan, Armenian Street.
Artist-facilitator Hitori Nakayama led this 7-day workshop in illustration for 10 participants aged 10-14 years old. The theme of the workshop was “Capture what you see”, The children were guided on playing with crayon and watercolour and then used these materials to expressively capture on site their impressions of the places of worship/temples that they visited.
This 5-hour toy design workshop was conducted by Mr. Sudarshan Khanna, a senior design educator working with National Institute of Design, India. The workshop was targeted at 110 students from 5 primary schools and 3 shelter homes. Students learnt to make traditional and classic toys using recycled/natural materials while exploring scientific concepts that contributed to the dynamics of the toys. A follow-up program on peer teaching was also conducted by local facilitators who had a chance to transmit their newly learnt skills to the public in a street exhibition held a month later.
Annual showcase of creative arts outputs and skills learnt by students from Anak-Anak Kota projects held throughout the year 2003. The mini showcase and festival was held in 2 different streets in George Town and included an exhibition of art works from children’s illustration and photography workshops as well as participatory sessions for the public in toy-making, wood carving & T-shirt printing.
The Inner City Festival for Children commissioned heritage-inspired work from 4 Penang-based theatre companies, including Aunty Uncle Stories by Young Theatre Penang. Child researchers and performers who were alumni of the Teater Muda programme, and were working on Anak-anak Kota projects were cast in the production, where they devised characters based on the residents of the inner city of George Town, crafted around the ambient images, sounds, and dynamics of the inner city.
This 6-month workshop which involved 25 participants was modelled on the framework of Teater Muda and incorporated both skill workshops as well as performative and expressive outputs. The skill workshops included theatre, visual arts, music and dance components. The second half of the project participants worked on producing creative works. The performance component incorporated traditional music, mask, character work and vocals to produce a short performance based on a folktale (The Dragon who Lost a Whisker). This was followed by an exhibition of installions and 3 –D visual arts works Multi-Arts Program was a collaboration by the School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Young Theatre Penang.
Led by artist-facilitator Liew Kung Yu and facilitator Lim Kuan Wei, this workshop involved 12 child participants from 3 primary schools in research into their family histories, which included interviews, illustrated family trees, collection of archival photos and mind mapping. Participants were required to document this oral history on their family in the form of a folio project and transform interesting stories from the family history into a puppet performance.
A series of 3 workshops (12-20 Nov 2001, 16-27 Nov 2002 and 13-24 Nov 2002) by Arts-ED in collaboration with Penang Heritage Trust, where students researched endangered trades and traditional foods in inner city George Town via interviews, observation and apprenticeship. Data was collected on the history of the traders, their processes and products and documented in the form of illustrated brochures. The brochures were upgraded with illustrations by Shari Chong and design by Willian Chong then printed distributed to the traders as an interpretation product. 2 trail maps were later created linking all 17 trades and foods in a walking tour (Living Heritage Trails of George Town in 2005 and Traditional Trades and Food Trades of George Town 2008-2009).
A 14-day workshop in November 2002 led by architect Ooi Bok Kim and heritage activist Lim Gaik Siang. 12 young participants from secondary school were introduced to shophouse typology, architectural features and the importance of building conservation in inner-city George Town. The participants interviewed owners and studied repair and renovation done to their properties. To promote good practice the participants produced illustrated pamphlets recommending good-practice restoration as well as a directory for building owners on whom they can go to for guidance on technical, legal or material advise.