Five Arts Centre recently moved to a new home after enlightening audiences for 23 years at its 2-storey shoplot in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.

Since its founding in 1984, the Malaysian collective consisting of artists, advocates, activists, and producers, has become synonymous with alternative art forms. In the current arts landscape, their work is known for challenging the status quo and raising pertinent questions about contemporary issues in Malaysia.

The new home for the 38-year-old collective is at GMBB, a creative community mall in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Eksentrika speaks to two of its members to learn how far the collective has come and what is in store for them in the next 38 years.

Long-time producer and biologist June Tan recollects her initial memory of how she got started with Five Arts Centre. She also graciously shares insights on how she utilises learnings from both the arts and biology, interchangeably, to better understand the arts ecosystem in Malaysia.

A new addition to the team, Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri, brings with him his experience as a musician, performer, and video maker. He shares his vision and aspirations for the future of Five Arts Centre as the collective attempts to brave the new world through their works of art.

June, Five Arts Centre Malaysia has been around for 38 years. Can you share with us when and how you got involved?

June: I returned from my studies in the UK and caught up with my A-Levels teacher, Marion D’Cruz over dinner. We went out to check the ‘new and ‘exciting’ idea of sushi on a conveyor belt.

While sushi rolled past us, I told Marion I was interested in finding out how productions work, and she immediately signed me up as Assistant Stage Manager for a new Five Arts production called Family. It was an experimental multi-genre production set in an abandoned bungalow along Jalan Tun Razak, and was directed by Krishen Jit and Wong Hoy Cheong.

I remember Hoy Cheong using the printer at Five Arts’ office and I read the summary of the sponsorship letter and suggested he added the phrase, “Value-added Propositions” to the points why Phileo Bank should support the show (my day job then was with a venture capitalist).

Eventually, Phileo agreed to sponsor and Hoy Cheong came up to me and dramatically thanked me for the suggestion. It sounds quite naff now, but this was 1997 and we could recently choose the type of font on the word processor, so…exciting times. I guess that was my earliest memory of me thinking about how I can strangely bring something different to the arts.

What about you, Faiq? How did you first get to know Five Arts Centre and what got you attracted to join the collective?

Faiq: I got to know Five Arts through my Diploma in Performance & Media education at Sunway University.

There, I was taught by members and people who are closely affiliated with Five Arts Centre, Leow Puay Tin, Marion D’Cruz, Anne James, and some others. Also, the second ever theater performance that I ever saw was a show that was produced by Five Arts Centre called Second Link (back in 2006).

At that point in time, the theater was very unfamiliar to me. At that point in time also, I did not know you could tell stories about what it’s like to be Malaysian (and make it mean something). I was a young millennial whose world was filled with stories from American culture; Hollywood culture.

Second Link told stories from our own memories, personal choices, desires, grief, etc about being Malaysian. That show opened my mind to the possibilities of how I could make my own art and what that could possibly look like and mean.

You’re now among the 16 individuals from diverse disciplines and generations who form part of the collective. How does this make you feel? 

Faiq: It makes me feel honored. I’ve always admired and respected the work that Five Arts Centre has produced.

Speaking of works produced, what are some of your most memorable experiences with Five Arts Centre, June?

June: I’ve worked with Five Arts for 24 years, which is half of my life, and the collective and its ideas have become a sort of family. So it’s like asking what is your most memorable experiences with your family. It’s hard to pick la.

But this is a great question and it made me think about how we don’t get to chat enough with different practitioners about their experiences or share anecdotes on what happened, or how we got here.

You’re also a biologist, June. Do you find yourself using mental models and techniques from both fields interchangeably? 

June: Yeah, a lot. I think I’ve structured my approach to working life around four ideas. My final year paper at university looked at why there’s such much biodiversity in tropical forests.

One theory that stuck with me, which I still think about, is the Niche Theory. The idea is that small differences in the environment create different conditions that allow different species to dominate.

I always liked this idea that there are different conditions for different people to flourish. And as a producer, I feel my role is to create the largest possible platform of possibilities to allow different practitioners to find what works for them. And because I cannot possibly provide the largest possible range of possibilities, I try and create the situation for practitioners to decide their own conditions – which translates as a type of non-interference as encouragement and support.

And this leads to the second idea, what is that basic condition, function, or element (First Principle) – I often try and break things down and wonder why projects, people (artists) are behaving in a particular way, and what is needed.  And I see what is needed, the right activation energy (like a catalyst) to come out with what I can say or do to make the reaction (event) happen. That’s the third idea.

The last idea which I think governs how I work is just this idea of self-regulation and a feedback loop. Like most, I’m really drawn to how elegant natural cycles are (carbon cycle, our body’s regulatory system) – I often interpret the producer’s function as to try and keep the cycle going. Either by getting the financial resources in, or even the right thing to say (or not) when the artists are stuck, anything to keep the cycles going.

So yeah, studying biology and science has really made an impact on my approach to life and work.

Now, Faiq, the Five Arts Centre was founded in 1984. In your opinion, what has kept the collective going for 38 years?

Faiq: The members have kept Five Arts going. It’s quite amazing that they have managed to stay together as a collective for 38 years.

I am unsure of any arts collective in Malaysia that has stayed together and stayed active and vital for this long. (I hope I don’t mess it up, lol).

If I were to give an opinion as to how, I would say it’s their tenacity to create or support work that is urgent, different, new, and ultimately truthful to what it means to be human and Malaysian.

What makes Five Arts unique?

Faiq: A tradition of experimentation.

Speaking of experimentation, June, how much has changed for Five Arts when it comes to generating alternative art forms and images in Malaysia’s contemporary arts landscape?

June: We started working in smaller, more intimate spaces, possibly after 2010 when we started using our then black box in Taman Tun as a space for performances instead of just rehearsals.

Previously, we would rehearse in our studio and then bring a show to the theatre like The Actors Studio’s black boxes under Dataran Merdeka, in Bangsar Shopping Complex, and later at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac).

I think this changed the type of shows we started to present – definitely more intimate (Mark Teh and Chee Sek Thim’s work), more low-tech, chaotic, messier (Mark’s work), turning things inside out with different types of staging (our toilet, office space, etc…. 2-minute solos by Marion D’Cruz).

We’ve also moved into publication with two books – a collection of our selected plays, and a book reflecting on Krishen’s work. And now we moved into arts advocacy and climate activism, hoping to be part of the effort to reimage and develop possibilities for the future.

On arts advocacy and cultural activism, what are some contemporary Malaysian topics or issues you would love to explore with the collective, Faiq?

Faiq: I can’t seem to run away from the topic or issue of Ethno-religious Nationalism. The ideas and concepts of Faith (and race) in this country have been abused and misconstrued to serve only one type of narrative and this narrative is primarily used to retain the state’s power and its status quo.

The effects of this design seep into our personal lives, and personal choices, and affect our own agency. That is a topic that I would like to explore.

What do you look forward to now that Five Arts has a new home?

June: After being in the suburbs, it’s really exciting to be in the city. We’re definitely getting a different vibe from people who wander in, from the restaurants nearby, and from those who attend our shows.

And I think it’s just a function of being near to different things. We’re near the river, we’re near Chinatown, we’re near the old jail (now a mall), we’re near Dataran, we’re near Pudu, we’re near Bukit Bintang. It’s great.

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Cover image supplied by Five Arts Centre Malaysia.