Latest news with #ZenCho
The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Weekend for the arts: Tipu Sultan exhibition, Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Fest
EXHIBITION: 'MORE THAN A DAY AS A TIGER' Venue: Special Gallery 2, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Date: ends Jan 11, 2026 The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia returns with its biggest exhibition yet, transporting visitors to 18th-century India. It spotlights two influential Mysore rulers - Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan - renowned for their fierce resistance against British imperial expansion from 1761 to 1799. Named after Tipu Sultan's famous declaration, 'It is far better to live like a tiger for a day than to live like a sheep for a hundred years,' the exhibition features prized artefacts from one of India's most remarkable dynasties. Visitors will see how Tipu Sultan embraced the tiger motif across weapons, armour, and army uniforms. His legacy of innovation and courage shines through a rare display of superior Mysorean armies and some of the era's most inventive, finely crafted weaponry. With detailed craftsmanship and powerful symbolism, the exhibition vividly brings this dramatic chapter of South Asian history to life. More info here. YAYASAN SIME DARBY ARTS FESTIVAL 2025 Venue: Elmina Lakeside Mall, Shah Alam, Selangor Date: Aug 9, 4pm-11pm Here's a Saturday evening arts idea for the whole family! The Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival (YSDAF) 2025 is set to close its six-month arts extravaganza with a bang this Saturday following its first-ever Urban Tour. Its pulling out all the stops for the grand finale – festival-goers can dive into a vibrant line-up of over 80 free activities, featuring over 300 artistes, including exciting concerts, hands-on workshops, one-of-a-kind performances, and engaging installations. Best of all? It's free and open to all. The main stage line-up suits the park setting perfectly, with indie pop singer-songwriter Zee Avi and her band The Good Things leading a night of soulful folk, jazz, and pop. Powerhouse acts like Kyoto Protocol and Fugo will keep the energy high into the night. Other programme highlights include Young KL Singers' Spice, Magic and Mystique , a musical journey through South-East Asian folk songs. It will also offer a sneak peek into its upcoming Coldplay tribute concert at KLPac. For theatre, two crowd favourites from the Kampung Tour return in full form: Dollah, a coming-of-age theatre piece, and Ceritaku, a poignant monologue series based on real-life stories – both directed by Christopher Ling. Also debuting is a bold and moving new production: Detour The Musical, a pioneering work that features deaf and hearing performers on stage together, seamlessly fusing spoken word, Malaysian Sign Language, and music while championing inclusion and accessibility in the arts. More info here. Zen Cho returns to Kuala Lumpur this weekend for a whirlwind tour promoting her book 'Behind Frenemy Lines'. Photo: Pan McMillan/Filepic BOOK EVENT: ZEN CHO'S 'BEHIND FRENEMY LINES' Venue: Selected bookshops in KL Date: Aug 9 and 10 Award-winning Malaysian author Zen Cho delivers a sparkling and witty rivals-to-lovers romance in her latest release, Behind Frenemy Lines. Set in the same universe as her previous rom-com The Friend Zone Experiment, we follow a new cast of characters in the high-stakes world of law and justice. When Kriya follows her boss and joins a new law firm, she's looking for a fresh start after a messy break-up. Sharing an office with her "bad luck charm" Charles was definitely not what she had in mind. A stickler for the rules, Charles thinks Kriya can't stand him, but just as they're figuring out how to navigate this frenemy relationship, Kriya needs Charles' help in fobbing off her boss's uncomfortable advances. The Britain-based author is back in Malaysia this weekend only, so don't miss out on the chance to catch Cho as she unpacks the slow-burn tension, funny banter and behind-the-scenes insights on the book. On Aug 9, Cho will be at MPH Bookstore, The Exchange TRX (noon-1pm) and Lit Books' CzipLee outpost, Bangsar Village II (4pm-5pm), and on Aug 10, you can find her at Tsutaya Books, Pavilion Bukit Jalil (2pm-3pm). More info here. A visitor observes Unglehrt's mixed-media artwork titled 'The Great Malaysian Sunset', 1989, featuring Darth Vader in a series of kampung scenes. Photo: The Star/M. Irsyad EXHIBITION: 'A THIRD EYE: A TRIBUTE TO ASKANDAR UNGLEHRT' Venue: Harta Space, Ampang, Selangor Date: ends Aug 31 This new exhibition at Harta Space honours the late Askandar Unglehrt (1943–2022), a German-born artist who lived in Malaysia for over five decades. A lecturer and mentor, his works blend Eastern and Western influences with wit and curiosity. Unglehrt's colourful assemblages - crafted from old magazines and wooden frames - merge pop culture icons like Yoda, Darth Vader, and Superman with scenes from Malaysian life. Using everyday materials, he explores how media and culture shape identity. Visitors will enjoy the playful spirit of his work while reflecting on foreign influences within local identity. Curated by Ricardo Chavez Tovar and Adela Askandar, the exhibition previews an upcoming publication on Unglehrt's life and work, with plans to showcase more art in Penang, his longtime home. Admission is free. Closed Mondays. More info here. A view of the Ryoko Kui and 'Delicious In Dungeon' exhibition at the Fahrenheit88 mall in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani EXHIBITION: RYOKO KUI AND 'DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON' Venue: Incubase Arena, Level 2, Fahrenheit88, Kuala Lumpur Date: ends Sept 28 This Japanese pop culture exhibition brings together the imaginative world of Delicious In Dungeon and its creator, manga artist Ryoko Kui. The story follows adventurer Laios and his companions as they explore dungeons and cook the monsters they find. Adapted into a TV anime, it premiered in 2024. Now in Kuala Lumpur after stops in Japan and Hong Kong, the exhibition at KL features over 150 artworks and concept pieces, giving fans a peek into Ryoko's creative process. Step into immersive sets from the anime and check out the artist spotlight zone with interview clips and drawing videos. After exploring, you can even eat like Laios and his party at the themed café serving monster-inspired dishes. More info here. A visitor views one of five windshield panels from Azim's 'Langkah Terasing' series, highlighting roadside fruit sellers in the city's busy traffic areas. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli EXHIBITION: 'OLD SCHOOL X NEW RULES' Venue: Galeri PETRONAS, Level 3, Suria KLCC Date: ends Sept 28 Curious about the new wave of Malaysian artists reshaping the scene? Old School X New Rules at the newly reopened Level 3 gallery in Suria KLCC is a great starting point. Spanning installations, video works, paintings, and found objects, the show gathers diverse emerging voices exploring shifting perspectives and the balance between tradition and experimentation. Featured artists include Zulkefli Jais, Aimman Hafizal, Azim Rodi, Yong Hui Lin, Chong Yan Chuah, Yuki Mun, Burhanuddin Bakri, Foong Yeng Yeng (with Lim Soon Hock), Afiq Romi, Haziq Syawal, Husni Osman, Syazwan Jehan, Syuhada Yaacob, and Akif Azmi. After a pandemic-era pause since May 2021, Galeri PETRONAS marks its return with this exhibition and a series of public programmes. Free admission. Closed on Mondays. More info here.
The Star
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
2025 Tolkien Lecture: Zen Cho on the fun and freedom of fantasy
Zen Cho at Pembroke College, Oxford, England, where she delivered her 2025 Tolkien Lecture, 'The Uses Of Fantasy' on May 19. Photo: Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature Malaysian author Zen Cho delivered the 2025 Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at the Pichette Auditorium in Pembroke College, Oxford, England on May 19, joining the likes of fellow esteemed fantasy writers such as Rebecca F. Kuang, Guy Gavriel Kay, Victoria Schwab and Susan Cooper. In the lecture, titled "The Uses Of Fantasy', Cho touched on the importance of fantasy as a genre to writers. A YouTube video of the lecture was uploaded yesterday, allowing Cho's fanbase to catch up on the talk and engage with her insights. 'I'm not that interested in the utilitarian sort of approach to literature that's only interested in asking what it does for the real world. I think it's a big assumption that the physical realm or society is the only real world, right? We all carry worlds inside us, which are arguably as important," said Cho in her presentation. 'The insides of our heads are where we live. So what does fantasy do for your interior world? I find it's a good place to work things out. It allows you to look at things aslant,' she added. Cho also lamented about how the rise of social media as the main platform for discourse has often stood in the way of exploring nuance and having healthy debates out of fear of being 'cancelled'. 'An art that's made in the spirit of 'I don't want to get anything wrong', 'I don't want to get criticised on social media' – it's not good art. That fear is incredibly damaging to curiosity and exploration and play, which are all necessary conditions for the creation of good art. 'I find fantasy can be useful here. So for an artist, for a thinker, it's a way to introduce some distance from reality. And that can provide cover for ideas and thoughts and feelings that otherwise not only other people might find challenging, but that you yourself might be a bit too scared to acknowledge, much less put on the page,' she explained. The Petaling Jaya-born Cho went on to discuss generative AI, a contentious topic of concern these days not only for writers and other creatives, but their audiences as well. 'Besides the environmental impact and the infringement of intellectual property rights on which generative AI is founded, one of the things about AI that most troubles me at the moment is how it's being used as a shortcut for living. 'The only way I can wrap my head around this is to say to myself, people are overwhelmed by the effort of living in this world. But I think in a world that seems so deliberately designed against human flourishing, art takes on an increased importance,' she said. Cho, a lawyer who currently resides in Birmingham, England, has won the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards, as well as the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize for her writing. Her titles include the Sorcerer To the Crown historical fantasy novels, contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister , the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order Of The Pure Moon Reflected In Water , and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad . Her latest novel, Behind Frenemy Lines , is a contemporary romance set in a London law firm. The Tolkien Lecture Series, which is held annually, is supported by Pembroke College, the Pembroke Pink Grant, and the Kadas Family Charitable Foundation.
