Diversecity 2015 ready to mesmerise Malaysians

In conjunction with the auspicious 58th Independence Day celebrations, the inaugural Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festival, Diversecity 2015 was officially opened in a special ceremony on Monday.

The large-scale month-long festival will showcase various works from local artistes and from ASEAN countries and the rest of the world.

Prior to the opening ceremony at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur which was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, visitors also viewed visual arts exhibition by Melbourne-based Malaysian artist, Soon Hoe.

A special performance by Sutra Foundation, Dua Space Theatre, Alam Wakaka and Amanda Brown fascinated the crowd with their breathtaking dance show.

Other performances including poetry recital by Poet Dr Lim Swee Tin accompanied by flautist Rohaslam Hizad, Indian traditional dance and the energetic dikir barat.

More than 100,000 tickets across 30 venues in Kuala Lumpur are available for grabs throughout the multi-genre festival, which includes comedy, music, traditional, dance, literature and visual arts.

The musical part of the festival is curated by jazz maestro Michael Veerapan while dance events are curated by performing artiste, Datuk Ramli Ibrahim.

Apart from that, Malaysia’s stand-up comedy icon Harith Iskander will curate Asia’s biggest annual comedy event, while the literature genre will be curated by Mohd Khair Ngadiron and the traditional genre will be curated by Eddin Khoo from PUSAKA.

“This festival was initiated more than a year ago by renowned Malaysians in the art scene and in close collaborations with government-linked institutions and independent arts organisations.

“I would strongly encourage everyone to visit as many performances as possible as this amazing festival will be showcasing the best in Malaysian and regional talent in Kuala Lumpur,” said Festival Director Datin Sunita Rajakumar.

Artistes from 26 countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Japan, Korea, the United States, Australia and New Zealand will be featured in various performances.

For more information on Diversecity 2015, please log in to www.diversecity.my