Tag: penang
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PWMF 2008 – The Welcome Dinner @ Khoo Kongsi
The Welcome Dinner for the Penang World Music Festival was held last night at the Khoo Kongsi, which won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award in 2006. I’ve not heard of it before, but Peggy said that I should go see it.
The building sits inside a maze of other buildings. The entrance didn’t look like much.
But a stroll and a few turns in the alleyways brought us to this:
Cue me standing there for about two minutes looking like this -> :O
The detail they injected into this temple is nothing short of staggering. There is something interesting to look at every direction you turn. What an amazing place to hold a welcome dinner for international delegates.
The temple faced a theatre which is located on the other end of the courtyard. That was where the speeches were given and entertainment was performed. The left and right sides between the temple and the theatre were lined with food stalls. Tables filled the middle.
But it was almost enough to stand there and drink in the opulence.
The two statues above and below flank the foot of the stairs up to the temple. It’s two versions of the same man (or god?) but with different expressions. The happy/sad is to represent the two states of humanity.
Inside, the walls are more muted compared to the distracting glare of colours outside. It struck a necessary balance and gave the main room a slightly sedated feel, with detailed trims in the nooks and crannies most people don’t pay any attention to.
Everything is a work of art. It’ll take hours to fully explore and photograph the Khoo Kongsi.
When we finally extricated ourselves from the interiors, the dinner and show was in full swing. Here’s the theatre on the other side of the courtyard.
And here’s us sitting at the steps of the temple, people watching after dinner.
Irene, me & PeggyThe Festival kicks off tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with a report, photos and hopefully some videos.
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PWMF 2008 – Press Conference Snippets
Thursday was full of rushing around for most of the volunteers involved. There are significantly less volunteers for PWMF than the hundreds you normally see for RWMF. Most of these people have had years of experience, but I still feel sorry for folks like the schelppers, who have to handle more instruments than they have limbs.
So the bands have arrived, spot promotion have been performed, and everyone gears up for the show.
The press conference on Thursday afternoon saw a representative of each band facing the media at the press centre of the hotel. This media preview is designed to give the press a taste of what music to expect in the next three nights. They also take questions, but the Penang media proved to be a rather quiet lot. Reminds me a lot of home.
There were also significantly fewer foreign media.
The performers stated various reason for being here, including a very dry “Because we were invited” from the red-haired lady.
Kumpulan Dendang Anak (Terengganu) gave the cultural preservation reason. Their members are young and they work towards inculcating interest. Given that some of their songs date as far back as 600-700 years old, it would be very interesting to hear how it sounds.
Kenge Kenge (Kenya) pointed out that playing at a festival is different from playing at a concert.
“You meet different musicians, and get psyched about the traditional aspects of it.” said their leader. “There is an exchange of knowledge.”
Mojmir Novakovic of Kries (Croatia) agreed. “It’s important for musicians to come and experience a festival like this. You learn.”
Like most musicians where large groups of musicians are gathered, he also hopes to get to jam with the other bands.
Another band I’m interested in is Techung (Tibet). His songs are described as “freedom songs” and the political angle of it was brought up at the press conference.
“I sing them for my community.” said Techung simply. “For everyone else, it will be an introduction.”
Penang World Music Festival kicks off tonight at the Botanic Gardens, Penang.
