The Penang government has set up Public Arts Review Panels (PARP) for George Town to monitor and control art works put on display at the heritage city. From now on, all new murals will have to be approved by the panels before they are painted, and only existing ones that are deemed appropriate will be retained. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng...
From now on, all new murals will have to be approved by the panels before they are painted, and only existing ones that are deemed appropriate will be retained.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the decision to set up the panel was to manage public art works and prevent George Town from being overwhelmed with graffiti.
"We have received complaints, even from the media, that some public artwork does not compliment the outstanding universal values of the heritage city.
"We accept this view but we cannot decide what is appropriate or not, so we need to have this special panel made up of people with expertise to make the decision," he told a news conference at his office in Komtar today.
Lim, who is also the state's art exco, said the move was not prompted by the Johor Baru City Council's move to erase internationally-acclaimed street artist Ernest Zacharevic's Lego-inspired paintings late last year, but was due to numerous complaints received from locals.
"We have never removed any of Ernest's artwork. He framed up a small uncovered pothole and we still left it there... We must have tolerance for art to grow," he said.
The panel will be made up of members with a background in arts, tasked with, among others, the responsibility of evaluating all mural-related artwork within the heritage site.
The members are art gallery curator Alfred Yeoh, Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Fauzan Omar, Penang Museum and Art Gallery director Haryany Mohamad, Han Chiang College's International Office Department head Lim Chun Woei, One Academy lecturer Leong Hoy Yoke and Penang Global Tourism general manager Ooi Chok Yan.
The panel will be chaired by George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) general manager Lim Chooi Ping, who said the committee had started work last month and sat for two meetings.
She said only 12 public art projects, which include Zacharevic's murals, were done with permission and authorisation, adding that the panel had found 46 illegal public artworks so far.
The illegal ones that have no local council permit include murals of the animated movie characters Minions on Lebuh Ah Quee and Superman on Lebuh Bishop in town, which the panel has recommended for removal.
"There are likely to be more public artworks that were done without permit. We are conducting daily inspections and reviewing unauthorised work.
"We will find the building owners or artists to ask them to remove the illegal artwork. Otherwise, the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) will erase them.
"However, for illegal murals that we find can be retained, we ask the building owners or the artists to submit their applications to GTWHI for their work to be legalised," she said.
Chooi Ping said for all future public artwork, artists must submit their proposed work to GTWHI.
The applications will be reviewed by the panel which meets once every three months. If the work is endorsed by the panel, the successful applicants will get GTWHI-issued letters to help them apply for permits from the MPPP.
Artists must also get their art proposals approved by the MPPP and obtain permits before they can produce their public artwork.
Public art has become popular in Penang since the the emergence of murals by Ernest. His artwork on the walls of old heritage buildings have drawn thousands of tourists to the old city, helping the city to promote its tourism.
Since then, many others have begun painting their art on public walls, with or without permits from the local authorities. – August 25, 2014.
Source : http://news.malaysia.msn.com/tmi/review-panels-to-monitor-public-artwork-in-george-town
