Let the show begin
After a year a planning, OUR ArtProjects is ready to unveil its first gallery space in January 2017, moving beyond an art project platform and consultancy. It’s first exhibition will be Nirmala Dutt’s Great Leap Forward, which begins 7 January, focusing on the 1990s, a decade where immense economic progress was made. But Dutt asks: at what cost?
Incorporating indigenous motifs and newspaper clippings to shine the attention on those left behind in the race for progress, issues like the construction of the massive Bakun hydroelectricity dam and illegal logging causing native population displacement are given a platform. Dutt, who passed away in 2016, was a passionate supporter of the downtrodden, a social commentator that has been the conscience of our times since the 1970s.
The exhibition will the first of many planned OUR ArtProjects shows, contributing to the growing liveliness of Kuala Lumpur’s art scene. The gallery itself is also worthy of a story. Located in a row of restored 1950s shophouses on Jalan Rotan in Kampung Attap, Kuala Lumpur, the building once housed the Selangor Zhongshan Association. Neighbouring tenants include Malaysia Design Archive, The Ricecooker Archives, Tandang Records, Bogus Merchandise, Artist Studio and Reading Library by Amateur Collective, creating a little corner of creativity.
The Great Leap Forward solo exhibition by Nirmala Dutt runs from 7-27 January, 2017. Opening hours are Monday – Saturday 11:00am – 7:00pm; Sunday by appointment. Admission is free.
