Art is Individual, the Art Ecosystem is Collective

Opening speech at SPOTLIGHT, organised by Penang Art District, held at The Art Gallery on 4 January 2025

Thanks to the Penang Art District (PAD) for giving me the chance to say a few words.

Let me start by saying that Penang Institute, though primarily the think tank for the Penang State Government, is basically a non-profit organisation that has gone through a few stages in its existence; this is something one should expect. As personnel changes, as politics changes, as power shifts, think tanks adapt in order to accomplish whatever it is they were primarily created to achieve.

Penang Institute is known for its research, especially in Penang socio-economics, nation-building analysis and environmental issues. In fact, Penang2030, the general formulation of what the government of Penang wishes to accomplish, launched in 2018, is based on the many reports and masterplans produced by Penang Institute over the years, and much of what is said in the Penang2030 documents were formulated by the Institute.

But what Penang Institute is really concerned about is the holistic development of Penang Society. It is about the people.

At our suggestion, the state government created a Creative Industry EXCO portfolio in 2018. This was really a response to the times; the need to enhance the creative ecosystem in the state of Penang had become acute. We then established Digital Penang in 2020 to further stimulate technological creativity in Penang. Since then, the role Penang’s economy plays in geopolitics and geo-economics has grown enormously. So, in many ways, creativity in the tech sector has been receiving sufficient attention and resources.

Meanwhile, the focus of policymakers has been pulled away from the non-tech creative sectors. At such times, it is all the more important that people passionate about the arts come together to strategize and to enhance the socio-cultural ecosystem in Penang.

We founded Penang Monthly already in 2009 to act as a platform with which to capture stories about Penang, including those about art and artists. Helping Penang articulate its realities, be it in words, in pictures or in other art forms has been central to the Institute. Quite naturally, therefore, when the chance came last year, the Institute decided to take over the George Town Literary Festival.

We are therefore very happy at the same time to have been able to give a helping hand to the Penang Art District, to keep its nose above water for as long as possible, and to allow the many passionate people involved to continue doing what they do best, to continue doing what they feel a strong need to do, namely to build and maintain a vibrant ecosystem for the arts.

In taking over the George Town Literary Festival at a time when funds from the state had apparently run out, I was personally convinced that there would be non-state individuals and organisations in our midst who would step up to help us keep it alive. That proved to be the case almost immediately, as some of you might know.

All societies need Art. All individuals need to express themselves and their realities, in one way or another. Because of that, I believe that there is always enough creative passion to be found in society to maintain a vibrant and nurturing Art Ecosystem.

Synergy is the key. Pulling together the passion for the arts, like you would a laser beam, is necessary for society to provide the space necessary for its members’ creative impulses to find expression and to thrive. Today’s event—today’s SPOTLIGHT—should be seen in that dynamic context, as part of a natural need for individual and social expression that is best achieved collectively.

So, let me congratulate everyone involved today, for their collective determination to nurture the individual creativity inherent in our society. And thank you