The main man behind it, Joe Sidek, has boundless passion for fostering an appreciation of arts and culture, writes Aref Omar
SINCE its start as a string of arts and culture events to celebrate the listing of George Town as a Unesco Heritage Site in 2008, the George Town Festival — which had its official inauguration as a full-fledged month-long festival in 2010 — has grown from strength to strength.
Joe Sidek, the man behind the annual festival, works tirelessly with his team to make sure each edition is a memorable experience for attendees.
When met in Bangsar recently the fast talking Penangite explained that the mixture of traditional, contemporary and street events ensure that there's always something for everyone.
"The message is that art or culture shouldn't be exclusive — it's not about whether you're rich, clever or educated," said the 55-year-old festival director.
For him, it's the public that makes the festival, which also features free events and nominal fee shows.
"Those who came and took pictures didn't realise that they were part of the arts — they were participating even though they didn't pay for it and I'm glad to promote the incidental things that come with the festival," he said.
A satisfying journey
The fifth edition of the George Town Festival will be held in August this year and Joe explains that it has been a challenging but satisfying ride so far.
"This is my great passion and I've never been happier doing this people's festival," says Joe, who also runs a family business comprising of a textile auxiliary company.
Arts and culture are clearly what piques his interest and he's on a mission to share it with everyone.
"It's very important for art to be very accessible, not intimidating," says the apolitical Joe.
Some highlights in this year's event include the Southeast Asian premiere of the new dance production Play, which features award-winning Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and renowned Paris-based Indian dancer Shantala Shivalingappa.
Expounding on the idea of play-acting and the games people play, the show features Shantala constructing tales of love and separation through the rhythmic patterns and gestures of kuchipudi.
Another is a solo performance, Rising, by award-winning British-Indian dancer, Aakash Odedra. It comprises four dance pieces that draw inspiration from pattern-making, animalistic communication, light forms and thunderstorms to create an explosive repertoire that showcases his emotional and physical dexterity.
Joe also highlights a project called Cahaya, which is inspired by the dying Malay tradition of displaying pelita raya (oil lamps) during Aidil Fitri.
He commissioned three lantern makers to create 100 lanterns in blue, the official colour of the George Town Festival.
"They'll be given to Muslim houses in the inner city and the residents will be paid RM50 to light them up during Hari Raya and the whole of the festival period," he says.
"This will give those living in the inner city a feeling that this is their festival, a shared experience."
Joe is currently putting together a circus show, a la Cirque du Soleil, which will feature artists from various countries around the world.
"It's all about exposing the audience to new things and in sharing my journey, especially for the young as well," he says, adding that sponsored tickets for festival events will be given to deserving students.
Educating the young
This year, Joe was invited to participate in the Teach For Malaysia programme, where he taught students from SM Telok Air Tawar in Butterworth.
"There has to be some form of continuity to the teaching, so I chose to adopt 31 children from the school to connect them to the festival and to the arts and culture," he says.
He explains that he also exposed them to filmmaking via Tropfest, of which he is managing director for Tropfest South East Asia.
The short film festival celebrated its inaugural instalment in Penang last year and is part of the Tropfest franchise, the largest short film festival in the world.
"My dream is to bring silat and wayang kulit to the world and to have a show at Lincoln Centre where foreigners will pay to see it," says Joe.
His vision is to enlist the expertise of the best people from the country and region to put together a show with the help of JKKN and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to elevate the status of the country and its traditional arts.
"It'll be a five-year plan if I can get the support — we need to build our own original and exclusive content to be showcased overseas," he says.
Creative partnerships
As for the George Town Festival, Joe adds that he wants to build partnerships with the people, communities and corporations.
"I don't want money from the corporations, I want partnerships," he says, preferring to focus on the business angle.
Joe gives the example of telecommunications companies that put up expensive concerts every year.
"You then get about 5,000 people attending with not much mileage," he says.
"For the same amount of money channelled to the George Town Festival, you get a month-long fest with over five million hits on its website," says Joe.
He adds that the companies can marry it with a CSR-PR exercise, with the added monetising opportunity from the festival's public database collected.
"They can monetise the sponsorship and still get more mileage," he says.
So far the festival has attracted attention from the region and the world, having had mentions in many travel journals, as well as the New York Times and The Guardian.
"I feel the people who attend the festival is a multi-layered public who in general just want happiness and to be entertained," he says. "Eventually they'll want to be inspired and finally to think."
Details at www.georgetownfestival.com.
Source : http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/live/george-town-festival-grows-in-strength-1.591965
