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10th JB Arts Festival (Johor Bahru, Malaysia)
A Digital Booklet for 10th JB Arts Festival and all its exciting events.

Festival Director’s Message

“I Quit!”

I’ve said this many times over the past ten years. It is hard to believe, but the JB Arts Festival is ten years old. The many frustrations, tribulations and difficulties we’ve had to endure along the way have pushed my team and I very close to the brink.

Yet, we’ve ploughed on year after year. Maybe it is because I am just a sucker for punishment. But ultimately, the reason we keep going is because of a conviction that the JB Arts Festival really adds something extra to the city. More and more people we speak to are genuinely excited and interested about what the Festival has to offer, and what it does for JB. We have consistently tried to emphasized that a city is about more than just bricks and mortar. It needs its own culture, life, soul and identity, and the JB Arts Festival fills this space. Hence our tagline for this year: WE ARE THE SOUL OF JB!

We’ve seen the Festival grow over the years. I remember when we first invited Roger Wang to conduct a fingerstyle guitar workshop in 2005, the attendance consisted of 3 people and a cockroach that ran across the floor. Now, his workshops easily attract about 100 guitar enthusiasts. Nowadays, the Festival lasts one full month with different performances every day. Yet, we still have to turn away groups who are interested to come and perform.

In our tenth year, we again have a fantastic slate of performances lined up. As usual, we have some old favourites returning and some new faces joining the fun in all six genres of performing arts – music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film and comedy. This year, we are also honored to have D.Y.M.M. Tuanku Raja Zarith Sofiah exhibit her own collection of art pieces and paintings, together with other Johor artists.

For the first time this year, we are charging an entrance fee of RM5 for all shows and performances (except ticketed events). Many of the performers are professionals, earning their living through their art. As RM5 is, in many cases, cheaper than a meal or a movie ticket, it is a small price to pay to show our support for high quality, live performances.

The tagline for our inaugural festival was: Are You Ready? 10 years on, JB is ready. So come September, come up to Bukit Timbalan to watch a performance, attend a workshop, or just chill out as you soak in the sights and sounds of the JB Arts Festival.

LIVE THE ARTS! BUDAYAKAN SENI! 艺享人生!

Suzie Yap
Festival Director