Kamal Sabran performs with Sufian Abdullah at Khizanat Ipoh. Image credit Wan Musa.

Ipoh is known for its food, signature coffee and in recent years, blossoming  art scene.

Locals and international tourists alike have been flocking to the city’s revitalised “old town” to look at intriguing murals and patron the quaint shophouses, that exude a “hispter cafe” vibe while still maintaining a local charm, possibly lent by the preserved five-foot way architecture, commonly featured in colonial cities in South East Asia.
If you’ve attended one or several of the many art festivals in good ol’ Ipoh, you can bet that some were run by or with the collaboration of a local art house called Khizanat.

Five years into its conception, the creative hub established by Projek Rabak has hosted a variety of local and international gigs featuring talents from publishing to the performing arts. As recently as February this year, Khizanat opened its doors to feature Spazztic Japanese punk quartet Ni Hao and in March, held a workshop about local entertainment delivered by a seasoned player in the industry or otai,Kak Jenn a.k.a Jennifer Thompson.

Ipoh Kreative Satellite; which showcased local performers throughout the day-event and a talk about the subculture of Ipoh’s creative industry by Projek Rabak founder, Mohd Jayzuan, is another among the long list of Khizanat’s crafty initiatives.

They’re also known to host free classes and workshops that are open to any member of the public.

Now under the direction of Muhammad Faizal Ramli or Pyan, Khizanat is aiming to revamp its interior space into a more comfortable surrounding.

The leader of Dream Project Ipoh is hoping the public would be generous to its crowd-source initiative for funds towards that end.

Since we are getting visitors from locals as well as foreigners, we want to improve the overall facilities at Khizanat.

“Some of the funds will also go towards classes and workshops that could benefit Ipoh folks and visitors, who intend to dabble in some artsy activities while in the city,” says Pyan.

Pyan is also the guitarist and lead vocalist of Shizuka Ben Aman. Local music enthusiasts might be familiar with the band’s song, Redline.

Pyan has also been oversseing the operations of a recording studio at UTC Ipoh for more than 10 years now.

“We rely 100% on events, which means we only survive if we organise stuff for people to participate in.

“We would like to keep doing that and we hope the public would like to see us continue too.

“That’s why we have set up a Go Fund Me account for any awesome folks out there, who sees value in investing in arts and culture.” Pyan adds.

Should you be moved to help out this independent arts hub to keep churning and being a performance haven for local musicians and artists, you can donate to their Go Fund Me page or to their Maybank account at 5580 2420 2302 (PC Blossom). For further details, get in touch with Pyan at 017 – 3917518 or 0112 0947544 (Khizanat Hall).

Tags: Khizanat