Urbanscapes 2017

It was that time of the year again when Urbanscapes came to town. Not much of a frenzy this year. It may have been the economic slow down. It may also be because it was too near Ramadan. The event this year felt subdued compared to yesteryears.

But that did not mean that there was nothing happening.

Some real talents around

Interesting light effects

The notice was up ...

It was more of an art affair than performances. There was no concert in the middle of the town square like last year. It was a party atmosphere then. The event this time around were mainly indoors - at the aptly names Urbanscapes House, right by Medan Pasar.

I had only the chance to attend a couple of the sessions. First was having a look at some street photography exhibition, featuring works of local talent. Nice ...

Going upstairs

Meeting the authors

Some nice strips

The second weekend I was there to attend a talk on the railway system in Johor. More about that one later.

I bought some comics, had a chat with a few of the vendors, listen in on a few dialoques and took some photographs. Space was at a premium, so not much food or drinks there. Not much open space to enjoy from years ago. It was party in the park atmosphere then.

"Sila selongkar"

Thor was here

More happening downstairs

I gather that some of the events were held at other venues scattered around town. There were a couple of guided photowalks which unfortunately I could not attend due to work. But overall, the organisers did cater for those keener to explore the town as urban dwellers and hopefully learn a bit more about the city they live in. Definitely would support it in the coming years and of course, the event had to adapt with changing times.

Rags to Riches

RUANG - which was the Urbanscapes House from last year was fast becoming a hub for the creative lot in the middle of the city. The location was great, it had ample space and very accessible made the place an ideal setting for exhibits and events.

This weekend, I was able to catch a photo exhibit hosted by Kenny Loh and Born in Malaysia at the second floor of the venue. It was the final day of the event and Kenny himself was there to welcome the visitors. I spent close to half an hour looking through the photos and they were certainly eye openers.

Ample space and great lighting

It was basically an exhibit about the lives the immigrants in the KL inner city, how they cope with life hear, their struggles behind the scene. Each photos carry its own story, some happy, plenty are sad but fascinating none the less.

KL was becoming a hotpot of South and Southeast Asia, with he evidence being obvious everywhere. The city was fast becoming divided into quarters with each migrant population occupying their own space, displacing the locals essentially. The days when we congregated at Kota Raya and Puduraya were long gone now. There were now the territories of the Filipinos, where they congregate each weekends at the nearby church. The Nepalese were now occupying Medan Pasar. Bangladeshis and Indonesian had also established their hub.

In the next generation, the current locals may be displaced out of the inner city at the current rate. The stories and pictures just illustrated how those migrants struggled here as well as some success stories in the mix. Most of them were here to make an honest living, and I second them. My worries were the Africans who were similarly making inroads to the capital, mainly occupying the suburbs. There brought with them their own cultures and problem ....

The exhibits were well thought off and I would definitely be coming back should another instalment of the series came to fruition. I must admit that one of the photos brought tears to my eyes. It featured a Chinese family business about to be closed down as time evolved. It was originally opened by a migrant whose children had since called Malaysia their home. The shop were finally closed after being in business for a century. I snapped that particular passage below ....

I was lucky to make it back to the LRT station before it started pouring ...

Kenny alerted me that it was about to rain outside when I said goodbye, good luck and looking forward to more to come. I made it to the LRT station just in time before the rain fell ... A great Saturday afternoon it was ....

Stop at MATIC

“Interpretasi Hitam Putih Jalanan”. That was the title. Enough to intrigue me and on the sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to go and have a look.

It was a local exhibition on street photography, all in glorious black and white featuring local photographers with a number of international contributors. Well curated and well presented. The venue was MATIC, in a purpose-built room ideal with such exhibition with plenty of natural lights and cool ambiance.

I found some of the featured photos intriguing and at the same time familiar. There were plenty of KL flavours in them and some of the landmarks were easily recognisable. Certainly the theme being black and white, made the photos contrasty and gripping. I always preferred narration and again I struggled to grasp the overall direction of the exhibit. But that does not mean that I did not enjoy what was on show.

I wished that the exhibition was better publicised. I only learned of it from Facebook. There was no dedicated website, and the mention on the MATIC webpage was only nominal. The exhibit will go on until until the end on the month - 30 March 2017 - and it was certainly worth a visit.

Parking was an issue if you were driving. I got duped into paying RM10 as I was told that I was using a private parking. To encourage local visitors, they could have made the parking cheaper at least. Usually I would’ve parked at KLCC and walked, but with Anita coming along, it was too much of an ask for her to walk across. Again, local authorities conspired to make those who wanted to explore KL that much more challenging ...