The world’s largest and only site-specific art and performance festival on a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Melaka Art and Performance Festival (MAPFest), returns to Melaka for its seventh instalment from 27 to 29 November 2015. More than 35 local and international artists will muster around the vicinity of St. Paul’s Hill and transform the heritage city into a piece of art. The 3-day festival is a free and accessible event for all.
“MAPFest is a platform created for the artists. We saw tremendous growth in interest towards the arts and performing arts industry within the region over the years. We strongly believe that MAPFest will continue to pave the way in nurturing and cultivating artists for the country and the world,” said Andrew Ching, founder and producer of MAPFest.
Over the years, the festival has attracted tens of thousands of foreign and local festival-goers to the historical site. This year, artists from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, France, Poland, Singapore and Russia collaborates to present international quality performances from various practices of arts including dance, performing art, visual arts installation, film and music.
Andrew added that over the years, MAPFest grew into a world-renowned brand amongst the global art community. “The festival was nominated and won multiple awards by various local and international bodies. Our achievements today would not be possible without the continuous and restless support from our artists, partners and fans.”
MAPFest 2015 keeps it fresh with specialty components such as Cerita Pendik (Short Works) Visual Arts Installation, film screening as well as forums and workshops. Other highlights include collaborative performance – ‘Eulogy for The Living’, MAPPING programme, fine and contemporary arts display at local galleries around Melaka City, and a Children’s Art Festival at SMK Canossa Convent Malacca.
“The festival remains free for all and this gives the artists a freer range of expression. This was what made the festival unique. Artists freely collaborate, learn and experiment in the fundamental creative spirit. We have contemporary dancers, musicians, visual and new media artists alongside shamans from rural Java. We voice stories of transformations, rites of passages and concerns of the inner conscience. We have highly accomplished artist to work with young and emerging from all social-economic and cultural backgrounds. The profundity of themes and artistic relationships have grown, given birth to many further collaborations, networks and exchanges,” said Tony Yap, Creative Director of MAPFest.
He added that the festival is hard to fund but the wealth is beyond the entertainment and industry of spectaculars. “This is the message we get from the artists and audiences, and this is what kept us going.”
MAPFest 2015 is directed by Tony Yap in his capacity as Festival Creative Director. He was one of the principle performers with IRAA Theatre from 1989 to 1996, and has worked extensively in Australia and internationally, including the Agamemnon Festival, Colline Torinese in Italy and The Trojan Woman at the Vienna International Art Festival. As the founding Artistic Director of Mixed Company (now the Tony Yap Company) in 1993, he has made a commitment to the exploration and creation of an individual dance theatre language that is informed by psy-physical research, Asian Shamanistic Trance Dance, Butoh Voice and Visual Design.
MAPFest 2015 is produced by Arts & Performance Festival Melaka Sdn Bhd, initiated by E-Plus Entertainment Productions, and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Visit Malaysia Year 2015, Jabatan Warisan Negara, Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah (MBMB), Bandar Warisan Malaysia, Tony Yap Company, Perbadanan Muzium Melaka (PERZIM), the Australian High Commission, the Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia, the Embassy of France, Alliance Français de Kuala Lumpur, Estadia by Hatten and Institut Français.
For more information and updates about MAPFest 2015, please visit:
Website : www.melakafestival.com
Facebook : Melaka Art & Performance Festival
Instagram : mapfest