Bangun Penang! – 2009

Chew Clan Jetty

“Unless some form of regeneration is undertaken, the social-cultural and physical distinctiveness of the jetties will eventually be lost, even though it may become popular as an affordable low-rent urban housing area.”

Bangun – Penang Clan Jetties Community Arts Project is a multi-media community arts festival to be held on and around the Clan Jetties of Penang. The aim of the project is to actualise the local communities’ involvement in an arts festival featuring performance, installations, photography, music and exhibitions with the main focus on the Clan Jetties of Penang. This would lead to the development of skills and ideas for future art programs to be run (annually) that would promote the development and maintenance of a “living museum” based upon the unique cultural heritage of the Clan Jetties yet integrated with 21^st Century technologies, skills and outlook.

“The Clan Jetties of Weld Quay is one of the very few communal sites that have stayed in tact for over a century and survived the threat of urban development even though the cultural practices and social institutions that see to their daily functioning as a communal site are fast disappearing.”

In the week leading up to the festival, workshops will be held with members of the local community to develop performances, artworks and installations that are integral to and derived from the experiences and histories of those who live there examining their cultural traditions and place within a modern 21^st Century Georgetown. An exhibition of old photos and stories will be combined with contemporary photography, film-making, installations, performances and oral storytelling recounting the hopes and histories of the area and its people. The outcomes of the workshops and competitions will be performed and displayed in a 3-day festival where the community and contemporary artists come together in a site-specific experience that will be open to and inclusive of local students, tourists, arts and faith based organisations.

“Penang is now at an interesting juncture that recognizes its historic potential for it to be positioned as a world heritage site to increase its competitive edge for cultural and sustainable tourism. The question is how does one preserve the rich cultural heritage of these diverse historic communal sites in a manner that can capture and record the living memories, identities and contributions of these various groups? How can these communal sites be preserved not merely as static exhibits of dying cultural communities for the tourist gaze, but more importantly, reclaimed in a manner that take cognizance of their social histories so that their lived experiences and roles in building early Penang into a truly multi-ethnic global city can be recovered.”

This project will highlight the unique heritage and culture surrounding the Clan Jetties while also imparting skills and ideas to participants to further develop and energise the local community. This will also consolidate the Clan Jetties as a fascinating and unmissable addition to tourist sites within Penang. Focusing the local community on the richness of their heritage and the availability of means of relaying information, delivered in innovative and original ways, would cultivate the history of this area and create a more fulfilling experience for visitors to the area.

“The historic recognition of this communal site comes from its legacy of lineage (clan) organization (and settlement) and from the fact that they have survived the threat of modernity for over a hundred years. What is often forgotten is the people’s history and contribution to the growth and prosperity of Penang as the center of maritime trade in the 19^th and early 20^th century. In fact the formation and transformation of the clan jetties are closely intertwined with the development of the Penang port. The demise of the Penang free port status also marked the breakdown of the communities’ communal (clan) organization although there have been various attempts of reconstitution to maintain its survival.”

We propose that one of the main functions of Penang port now is to ferry tourists and visitors into Penang, again marking an important link between the port and the fate of the Clan jetties.