The fifth Melaka Art and Performance Festival (MAPFest) sees over 50 artists from 10 countries perform on the weekend

MELAKA - The 5th Melaka Art & Performance Festival (MAPFest), the largest and only site specific art and performance festival on a UNESCO World Heritage Site, held from 22-24 November 2013, with art installations and performances by more than 50 renowned local and international artists from 10 countries.

MAPFest is an innovative contemporary festival featuring dance, performance art, visual art, film and music. The festival promotes Melaka to the world as a creative hub for innovative arts, where the arts is integrated with heritage.

For the first time since its inception in 2009, MAPFest will be kicking off a new sister festival in Australia: Mapping Melbourne – Asian Contemporary Arts Festival (Australia) on 5 December 2013. It is produced by Multicultural Arts Victoria, a partner of MAPFest for the last four years.

Through the years, MAPFest has not only gained a high national profile but also increased its international status, being recognised for its programme of exciting independent artists, collaborations and its use of alternative sites for performance. The festival throws the spotlight on Melaka's famous heritage sites, and its collective ancestral heritage, to create a space for contemporary culture and artistic practice.

Andrew Ching, founder and producer of MAPFest said, “Over the years, the festival has managed to attract more and more international as well as local tourists. In fact, it has become a yearly excursion for many, including those from abroad who travel halfway around the world just to attend. The festival is widely accepted internationally and I expect it to only grow bigger.”

“It is important that the festival remain free and accessible so that the wealth of art can be experienced by all, irrespective of socio-economic considerations. The festival is designed to be inclusive; the performances in public spaces will give the ordinary men and women on the street an insight into the performing arts,” he added.

Conceived and directed by Cheryl Stock, “Naik Naik” was the opening performance and also one of the events to look out for at MAPFest 2013. Holding to the same MAPFest spirit, “Naik Naik” explored the notion of “ascent” that lingered on the traces of history, interwoven with personal and cultural stories related to the sites, in a celebration of the present.

Known for its originality, the festival kept it new with specialty components such as the “Cerita Pendek” (Short Stories), visual arts and discussions, as well as workshops. “Cerita Pendek” brought dance, music and performance works from all participating festival artists in a unique programme of short works over two nights at the historical and iconic St Paul's Hill.

“Artistically, many artists have found a very distinct element that keeps them returning. This is MAPFest’s x-factor. Over the years, the festival has found an evolved model where the very original nature of arts and expressions can find a platform in a historical city,” said Tony.

Tony Yap was one of the principle performers with IRAA Theatre (1989-1996) and has worked extensively in Australia and overseas including the Agamemnon Festival Colline Torinese, Italy, and The Trojan Woman, Vienna International Art Festival. As the founding Artistic Director of Mixed Company (now 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 psycho-physical research, Asian shamanistic trance dance, butoh, voice and visual design.

“Old ruins and heritage sites of Melaka are a part of our own lived history. They give us a sense of continuity with the old ways while pausing to reflect on modern times. Through our performances, artists respond to the focus on “Traces of Transformation”, which is the main focus of the broad theme this year,” he added.

Art takes many forms, and the visual arts segment is a curated programme of exciting and contemporary works by Malaysian and International artists including installations, video art, photography and painting coupled with a film fest featuring short films.

Movie buffs enjoyed a line-up of feature-length films from Australian filmmakers such as Genevieve Bailey’s I am Eleven, that documented the lives and thoughts of eleven-year-olds from 15 different countries; and Rohan Spong’s The Songs They Sang, an untold true story of the amazing musical and artistic performances that took place at the Vilna Ghetto, Lithuania, during World War II.

MAPFest 2013 is produced by Arts & Performance Festival Melaka Sdn Bhd together with the efforts of E-Plus Entertainment, the Australian Government, High Commission of Australia, Australia Malaysia Institute, Multicultural Arts Victoria, Tony Yap Company, Mercatus+ Malaysia, Asialink, the Embassies of France, Thailand and Indonesia, the High Commission of Ireland and the Malaysian National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN).

Sourced: TravelDailyNews