Indigenous Sarawak musicians invited to Italy - but funds are short

 

Six indigenous performers from Sarawak, who make up the group Kulleh Comrades, have been invited to perform at the Venice Biennale in Italy from April 21 to 26.

They were invited as part of aabaakwad (it clears after a storm), an art collective of indigenous performers, artistes, curators and thinkers.

The six were invited to perform for the Nordic Pavilion, which will be converted this year into the Sámi Pavillion, in celebration of indigenous heritage.

Kulleh Comrades is scheduled to perform on April 22, on the opening night of aabaakwad at the music school in Venice, the Conservatorio di Musica Bennedetto Marcello di Venezia.

The group was also invited to speak at a panel discussion and participate in poetry recitation during the gathering.

However, the group may not be able to fulfil the invitation due to financial constraints.

This despite accommodation costs borne by the organiser, said Kulleh Grasi, the multidisciplinary Iban artiste who heads the collective formed especially for the Venice Biennale 2022.

"The involvement of Sarawak indigenous artistes in the prestigious Venice Biennale 2022 is an honour and is important to the Southeast Asia indigenous arts ecosystem.

"Besides performing Malaysian and Sarawakian indigenous music and sharing our visual arts and literature on the global stage, it also provides us with a chance to widen our networks and to appreciate the indigenous arts and cultures of the world.

"We hope Malaysians can come forward and support our voyage to the Venice Biennale," Kulleh said.

Multidisciplinary Iban artist Kulleh Grasi (left)

Kulleh Comrade performs experimental music rooted in the traditional sounds of the indigenous groups of Sarawak.

Its compositions weave folk songs, poetry and ballads of the Nusantara, with the unique soundscapes of Malaysia.

Besides Kulleh, the five other artists making up the collective are Iban musician Gabriel Fairuz Louis, Dayak Cultural Association musicians Stanny Benedict and Boy Nelson, novice singer Jen Rossem and music instructor Matt Dalin.

All are of Iban or Bidayuh ethnicity.

Kulleh, whose real name is Royston John Kulleh, previously rose to international fame when his book Tell Me, Kenyalang (translated by Pauline Fan, published by Circumference Books in New York) was shortlisted for the American National Translation Award 2020 and longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award 2020 in the United States. - Mkini