German Choreographer Presents New Work in December

Riki von Falken, who has been in residence at Rimbun Dahan since October, will present Echo II, performed by 8 Malaysian dancers from 9-11 December at the Experimental Theatre, ASWARA. Entry is free for the general public. Echo II connects the energy of the martial art silat with Riki's abstract forms.

Survey for New Penang Arts Residency

Rimbun Dahan is working with the state government of Penang to start a new artists' residency centre in Georgetown. A beautiful, historic and affordable city, Georgetown has long been a favourite for visiting artists. The new residency model will be charging for studio and accommodation space in a charming heritage building. If you are an artist, please help us plan this new endeavour by responding to our brief 4-question survey!

Large-Scale Series by Resident Artist

Australian year-long artist-in-residence Rob Gutteridge has completed the four largest paintings he will do during his residency. Continuing the cloud and figure theme, these works will be included in the exhibition showing at Rimbun Dahan beginning 11 February 2012.

Current Artists in Penang and Rimbun Dahan

Zedeck Siew is writer-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan from September to November this year. John Foubister, Rimbun Dahan's first Australian artist-in-residence from 1994, is also currently in residence at Hotel Penaga in Penang, with his artist partner Melanie Fulton.

Year-Long Artists Announced for 2012

The 12-month Malaysia-Australia Visual Artists' Residency 2012 will be taken up by Malaysian artist Helmi Azam Tajol Aris and Australian artist Jonathan Nichols. This residency program, which began in 1994 and is funded by the architectural practice of Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn, is the central component of the arts program at Rimbun Dahan and culminates in a joint exhibition in the underground gallery.

Dancing to Connect at Rimbun Dahan

Battery Dance Company (NY) dancer Bafana Matea and ASWARA dancer Murni Omar conducted a five-day intensive workshop in September 2011 at Rimbun Dahan for teenagers from the Harvest School, Sentul, and SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Batu Arang, as part of Battery's global endeavour to share the tools for creating dance.

Malay Dance for International Conference Opening

Rimbun Dahan hosted a dinner for the opening of the Asia Pacific International Arts Conference in September, with classical Malay dance entertainment and impromptu joget session provided by the dancers of University of Malaya's KESUMA Ensemble.

Applications for Year-Long Residency Closing Soon

Applications for the 12-month Malaysia-Australia Visual Artists' Residency for the 2012 residency at Rimbun Dahan will close on 31 August 2011. Interested Malaysian or Australian visual artists are invited to submit their biodata and portfolios.

Yellow Peril at Hotel Penaga

Australian artist Tim Craker returned to Malaysia to undertake the first artist's residency at Hotel Penaga. He created the installation sculpture Beyond the Pail, now on bright yellow display outside the hotel's main entrance.

Audition for Dance Work by German Choreographer

Berlin-based choreographer Riki von Falken will be conducting an audition for her new upcoming work which will be created with Malaysian dancers between October and December 2011. Auditions will take place at Rimbun Dahan on 21 August and at ASWARA on 22 August. This project is supported by Goethe-Institut.

Room for 'The Whole Beast'

Rimbun Dahan and Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn are provided accommodation sponsorship for Malaysian-raised, Vancouver-based, contemporary dance artist Lee Su-Feh. Su-Feh is in Kuala Lumpur to perform her solo dance work, The Whole Beast, in which the dancer is butcher, meat, cook, and the cooked. The Whole Beast is presented by Five Arts Centre at The Annexe Gallery, Central Market, from 13-17 July 2011.

Mid-Term Report from Year-Long Artists

The artists in residence for the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Arts Residency 2011 are settling in well at Rimbun Dahan. Adelaide-based artist Rob Gutteridge is continuing to explore a long-standing interest in clouds and the human figure, through paintings and drawings. Malaysian artist Haslin Ismail is creating a new science fiction universe with paper and books, inspired by his daughter. Both artists have also contributed works to Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Art for Nature 2011.

Asialink Residencies Open for Application

Asialink's 2012 application round for arts residencies opened on 1 June, and will close on 1 August 2011. Residency grants are available for visual and performing artists, writers and arts managers.

Each year Asialink sends up to 40 Australian artists to live and work in Asian countries. As a host organisation for Asialink resident artists, Rimbun Dahan has hosted over 15 Australian artists since 1997.

Photo from the Archives

Mohamad Shamsul Dahlan with his discovery of a bird's nest in the crown of a cycad at Rimbun Dahan (February 2011). Sham, an industrious man of all work, and his wife Siti who cooked, cleaned and managed, worked at Rimbun Dahan for ten years, but have recently returned to Indonesia to set up their own business and start a family.

Rimbun Dahan is proud to present Art for Nature 2011: Here Today Gone Tomorrow. Curated by Noor Mahnun Mohamed, this iconic annual exhibition brings together unique works by big names and rising stars in the Malaysian and Southeast Asian arts community in support of WWF-Malaysia.

10 - 24 July 2011

Curator’s talk: Saturday, 16 July 2011, 3pm
Tour of Rimbun Dahan grounds & garden by Angela Hijjas: Sunday, 17 July 2011, 9am

Asialink Visual Artist in 3-Month Residency

Melbourne-based artist Rob McHaffie is spending 3 months at Rimbun Dahan in an Asialink residency. During his stay, he is making works in response to Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching, and reflecting on the possibility of sustainability and spiritual harmony.

Short Dance Film Shot at Rimbun Dahan

Singaporean director Sherman Ong shot some of the material for his short dance film, I Want to Remember, at Rimbun Dahan in April this year. The film, featuring dancers from ASWARA, the national university of the arts, will be screened at the Singapore Arts Festival on 28 May & 4 June 2011.

Talk on Victorious Wives by Dr Mulaika Hijjas

Dr Mulaika Hijjas will give a talk at the launch of her book, Victorious Wives: The Disguised Heroine in 19th Century Malay Syair, at Badan Warisan Malaysia, 2 Jalan Stonor, Kuala Lumpur, at 6.30pm on Saturday 28 May. Victorious Wives engages with six Malay narrative poems as complex literary works, exploring the depiction of gender relations in classical Southeast Asian literature. The launch is hosted by the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

bODIES aCROSS bOUNDARIES

The Dance Programme at Rimbun Dahan presents its first production for 2011: a mixed bill performance of four new contemporary dance works, 22-24 April at The Actors Studio, Lot 10. Two are choreographed by Australian artists and performed by Malaysian dancers, two choreographed by Malaysian choreographers and performed by Australian dancers.

Bodies Across Boundaries brings back past resident artists at Rimbun Dahan, including Rochelle Haley, Angela Goh and Madeline Edwards, to work with the finest talent of the Malaysian contemporary dance scene, such as award-winning choreographers Amy Len and Suhaili Ahmad Kamil.

Photo of the Month

A Great Mormon butterfly, Papilio (Princeps) memnon agenor female form butlerianus, resting in the Taman Sari at Rimbun Dahan.

First identification of this butterfly courtesy of Henry Barlow, who writes: "It is fairly common and the larva feeds on citrus. The male is uniform throughout its range, while the female looks entirely different and has a number of different forms." Photo by Angela Hijjas

The 16th Rimbun Dahan Residency Exhibition

The works of resident artists Ilham Fadhli Shaimy (Malaysia) and Jessica Watson (Australia) will be displayed in the Underground Gallery at Rimbun Dahan from 6th March to 20th March 2011, Saturday & Sunday 10am to 6pm, weekdays by appointment only. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

There will be an Artists’ Talk at 3pm on Saturday 12th March 2011 in the gallery and a guided tour of Rimbun Dahan grounds and garden at 9 am on Sunday 13th March 2011.

For more information please contact

Hotel Penaga Now Open!

Our boutique hotel in Georgetown, Penang, is now open for guests. The final phase on Jalan Hutton was completed in early February, and the first guests enjoyed the brand new lap pool, laneway garden, spa, restaurant and luxurious rooms over Chinese New Year.

Cambodians Making New Work with German Choreographer for Singapore

Dancers from Amrita Performing Arts in Phnom Penh will be in residence at Rimbun Dahan for two weeks in March, working on a new contemporary dance work by German choreographer Arco Renz. The finished work will premiere at Singapore Arts Festival in May.

Images of Newest Accommodation

The Rumah Balai, a tiny cottage that sleeps one or two people, has been fully furnished to serve as additional accommodation at Rimbun Dahan. It was converted in 2010 from a shed housing construction materials, to complement the relocated Penang House opposite.

Next rESIDENT Artist Wins Major Award

Haslin Ismail, who will undertake the year-long Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency at Rimbun Dahan in 2011, was awarded the main prize of RM 20,000 in the Young Contemporaries Awards 2010 from the National Art Gallery Malaysia. The exhibition will be open at the National Gallery until 6 March.

Image of the Month

One of a number of beautiful images captured at Rimbun Dahan by friend and visitor Kiran Nagesh