Urban Xchange 2015 is Malaysia’s only street art festival aiming to provide a platform for national and international artists who crave to create outside the walls of tradition – whereby Urban Xchange will be showcasing a diverse program of public art and cultural exchanges. Urban Xchange will be opening on the 31st of October with UX: Artisan Project, launching in Hin Bus Depot exhibition space. The intention behind this project is to break down the walls of contemporary art practices – in particular urban art and locating it in close quarters with the locals in order to stimulate a process of interaction and cross contamination. Seven contemporary Malaysian artists have combined forces with seven artisans representing traditional Malaysian trades and artisanal skills, such as: batik, silversmith, retin weaving, and more. Supported by Thinkcity, the UX: Artisan project aims to bridge the gap between generations and promotion nontraditional methods of traditional productions.
The focal part of this year’s event is a magnificent large-scale site-specific installation created by Malaysian artist Ong Jun Hao. The Star, a four-story high brainchild, will be built from over 400 meters of LED lights in a building in Raja Uda – not only creating a new landmark, but also a whole new community space to be used for many uses such as performances, market sales, and even music concerts. The Star will be inaugurated on the 7th of November, in collaboration with ZAP.
Architectural installation Berlin based media artist, AWK, will be creating a multi-layered projection mapping piece for the Hin Bus Depot outdoor area. AWK’s spectacular piece will be up for a week beginning on the 1st of November purely at night. Along with AWK, famous artists such as VHILS from Portugal, known for his innovative and avant-garde carving techniques; DAL EAST from China; TWOONE from Japan; SABEK & YES from Spain who will create sit-specific murals in both mainland Penang and in George Town.
Make your way down to the Urban Xchange in George Town, where the launch for the Artisan Project is on the 31st of October – The Star launch on the 7th of November – but do take note that the entire festival runs from the 31st of October until the 15th of November.
