Seeing is believing. Thinking. Feeling. Art today is an intriguing spectrum of intellect, imagination, and emotion that sparks dialogues about life, existence, and our world. It is essentially a human experience.
ARTisFAIR is fashioned on
this very premise, to challenge perceptions about art, while creating a new
kind of appreciation and ownership. This biggest hybrid art fair in Malaysia
aims to build a sustainable ecosystem of art and community within a real global
marketplace.
Opening on November 11 to
28 at Fahrenheit88, ARTisFAIR showcases the voices, ideas, and colours of over
500 artists from Malaysia and Indonesia. The creative realm spans over 2,000
artworks, from paintings to sculptures and unique installations, in over
100,000 square feet of gallery space. The mission: to connect emerging and
established artists with emerging collectors, across four levels of exciting,
welcoming areas, to spark art appreciation from ground level. Because everyone deserves
to have good art in their lives.
“This immersive art event
was born out of a desire to champion creativity and make art accessible to a
wider, appreciative audience,” says Andrew Yap, co-creator of ARTisFAIR, who
brings his experience in running the World’s Biggest Book Sale, Big Bad Wolf
Books, and 14 BookXcess bookstores, to this artistic venture. “By transforming
this massive mall space into the largest art exhibition in the region, we’re
inviting people of all walks of life to view the brilliance of contemporary
art, while giving them the chance to actually own a piece.”
Produced by “art outliers”
who bring a very different dialogue to the experience, it’s all about “trying
to do something different,” says Andrew. Here, artists, emerging artists, the
art and event public, interior buyers, and art collectors converge to create a
spectacularly new dynamic—away from conventional art presentations. Taking it
to tech, anyone can buy the artwork offline or online, with the website
www.artisfairkl.com designed specifically for browsing and shopping.
“Never in my wildest
dreams,” says Dato’ Sri Bernard Chandran, co-creator of ARTisFAIR, on branching
out from high fashion to contemporary art. And yet, this has been his personal
evolution, from pinning up Japanese airbrush art in his teenage years to being
a serious collector of Southeast Asian contemporary works today. “In our ‘new
world’ per se, the dimension of contemporary art needsto be presented outside
the gallery, in a more dynamic 2/2 and lively way for people to interact with
it, understand its relevance, and ultimately think that it’s cool.”
Dato’ Sri Bernard took on
the job of curating the artwork, using the “French way of presenting” by mixing
high with low to exude personality. “I took on everything as an artform by
using the original crates and boxes to frame the art and mounting them on
industrial broken walls, with plywood and hoarding. It’s raw, cool, and
beautiful. It’s a big space but with a real thought process and spirit of
innovation.”
“At the same time, we are
so thankful to Fahrenheit88 for offering us the entire mall to showcase
ARTisFAIR, and the artworks, almost carte blanche in terms of real estate,”
adds Dato’ Sri Bernard. “It’s really not possible without Dato’ Joyce Yap and
her team’s open and genuine support.”
It was a Saturday afternoon
in April, deep in the pandemic, when both men met Nicholas Siau of PAPU—Pop Art
Pop-Up – in a suburban mall in Kuala Lumpur, and called him on board as a key
collaborator. “Nicholas had a small but well-curated collection of emerging and
established Malaysian artists, and also opened up his space to incubate
interest in art with classes and talks,” Andrew shares. “We immediately wanted
to explore how we could support him and especially broaden the horizons of
contemporary Malaysian artists.”
“Before I owned PAPU, I
curated a show called LIMBO–‘neither here nor there’–and the concept was
anonymous artwork by a wide range of artists, big or small; no size
constraints, not limited by subject matter,” says Nicholas on his 2016 foray
into “experimental” art fairs. “I wanted people to buy art because they wanted
it, not for any other reason, only because they liked it.” The energy he brings
as a young art lover, curator, dealer, and even rapper [as Nemo on the 2017
album ‘Not Rich Enough To Buy The Scene, Not Poor Enough For A Sob Story’],
throws a new spin to the staid art scene.
This dynamic and diverse
partnership brings about a significant change in societal evolution. “The end
game is to make Malaysia beautiful,” says Andrew. “When people are creative,
everything will be.” Chiming in with his imaginative mind and taste for
“youth”, Dato’ Sri Bernard simply states: “Expect the unexpected.”
For more information about
ARTisFAIR, please visit:
Website: www.artisfairkl.com
Facebook: @artisfair.kl
Instagram: @artisfair_kl
Twitter: @artisfair_kl
Pinterest: @artisfair_kl
YouTube: artisfairkl
Hashtags : #artisfairKL
#aifKL
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