UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH TIME’S ‘CLIMATE IS EVERYTHING’ COVER ARTISTIC TEAM

The Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA – part of MyCreative Ventures) will be joining hands with the artistic team behind the TIME’s, ‘Climate is Everything’ cover by hosting a sharing session this Saturday, 8^th May 2021 at 2:30pm. The CENDANA Arts Sharing Session will feature Southeast Asia’s emerging artist Red Hong Yi (Artist & Producer), Chong Kern Wei (Director & Editor), Annice Lyn (Photographer) and Chee Chung Leong (Assistant Producer). The session will be moderated by Dr. Ann Lee, an award-winning playwright and researcher. 

After a career in architecture, Hong Yi’s foray into art has led her to commissioned projects by brands such as Google, Facebook and JP Morgan Chase, exhibitions at H Queens (Hong Kong), Design Miami (Miami, USA), Anchorage Museum (Alaska, USA) and World Economic Forum in Davos. For the “Climate is Everything” cover of TIME, Red and her Malaysian team took 2 weeks to create a world map using 50,000 green-tipped matchsticks. Red and her team then set the world map ablaze and the artwork burnt in two minutes. ” The idea came from wanting to highlight a world map, where everyone’s involved, and if one place is affected, the whole place is affected.” explained Red in a TIME interview. TIME also mentioned in their article about how “In nearly 100 years of TIME covers, never has a work of art been so drastically transformed in the process.”

This not-to-be-missed panel will explore the story behind the magazine cover, the initial point of conversations with TIME, thought process with the team, making of the work, coordinating and implementing the performance art. The CENDANA Arts Sharing Session invites the wider public and creative fraternity to join the session via zoom or CENDANA Malaysia’s Facebook page (where it will be live streamed). The session is part of PRISMA, an initiative under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Register to join the sharing session here https://tinyurl.com/ACERedHongYi 

Not only that, CENDANA and Studio Hong Yi recently inked a MoU witnessed by MyCreative Ventures Chairman, which will introduce the inaugural CENDANA Apprenticeship Programme. The collaboration will provide a 6-month apprenticeship programme for creative graduates; emerging artists and cultural workers who would like to unlock future opportunities and experiences. The apprentices will receive hands-on training from Red Hong Yi and her team of experienced professionals and given real responsibility in assisting in Studio Hong Yi’s projects .

“This announcement is a  much welcomed effort to help our sector to embrace the Government’s aspiration to create more employment opportunities for Malaysians. Our hope is that such collaborations will provide many young Malaysians engaged in creative placements with the opportunity to secure long term employment in the future. The effort is part of Kumpulan MyCreative Venture’s vision in growing Malaysia’s Orange Economy which is in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision in revitalising the economy post COVID-19,” Noor Azmi Mat Said said at the MOU signing ceremony at Zhongshan Building,  Kampung Attap. 

This CENDANA Apprenticeship Programme in collaboration with Studio Hong Yi hopes to select 4 Malaysians with strong drive and self-motivation that can bring a new perspective and fresh way of thinking. They will need excellent communication and teamwork skills and know how to multi task in managing a varied workload. They’ll be able to contribute ideas, solve problems and be part of an exciting line-up of new art projects under the stewardship of Red Hong Yi. 

“As we continue to provide opportunities for new artists and cultural workers in Malaysia to learn from Malaysia’s best, we are grateful that under the Budget 2021 allocation, we are able to incubate this apprenticeship programme with the aim of introducing similar collaborations with other cultural institutions locally and internationally. We hope this apprenticeship programme will provide the next generation of cultural workers, especially young Malaysians from under-represented and disadvantaged communities the experience, qualification and knowledge they seek for especially at a time when they have been hit hard by the pandemic,” Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin, Founding CEO of CENDANA.

Sabahan artist and CENDANA beneficiary alumni Red Hong Yi expressed her excitement on this apprenticeship programme and hopes to see more meaningful collaborations such as what CENDANA and her Studio had jointly carved out. “Apprenticeships are an excellent vehicle for young people to kick start their careers in an industry that they love which offers the opportunity for young people to apply and test their learnings at their respective traditional education route in a real work setting. So we are really excited about this collaboration. We want Malaysians from all walks of life to contribute to our work and contribute to building a nation inspired by the arts. Care to join us?”  
Applications to apply for the CENDANA Apprenticeship Programme in collaboration with Studio Hong Yi opens on 10 May 2021 and closes on 6 June 2021. Successful candidates will join Studio Hong Yi on 1 July 2021. Apprenticeship fees and allowance will be provided for during that period. Log on to www.cendana.com.my for more information.