A R T S 13

by Fong Wai Ling

Central Market: How to get there

Built in 1888, Central Market was once the 19 - 23 NOVEMBER

MATRADE Exhibition & Convention Centre

largest wet market in the city. Located right in the

heart of Kuala Lumpur, along Jalan Hang Kasturi,
and just a few minutes away from Petaling Street,
it is classified as a Heritage Site by the Malaysian
Heritage Society.
Today, it is a one-stop centre for Malaysian
arts and crafts, as well as alluring locals and
tourists alike to learn about Malaysian arts and
culture. It is also home to the renowned art
gallery, the Annexe Gallery.
Conveniently located near to three different
train lines and the main bus interchange in
the city, you can reach Central Market via the
following.

Via Bus
Take the B113, a direct bus ride from Maluri to
Pasar Seni.

Via Train
The Putra LRT will offer you the closest and
fastest walking distance to get to Central Market.
Stop at the Pasar Seni station and the Central
Market sits right opposite the station.

ARTISTRY HAVEN
The Annexe Gallery, a Mecca for the arts.
Q: What is the founding philosophy of The
Annexe Gallery?
The Annexe Gallery is a multi-purpose
contemporary arts space. Because of its
location at Central Market, its proximity to
Dataran Merdeka and Chinatown, its pre-war
nature of the temperament of artists and the
like, who are often more readily expressive
than non-arts people. You have to take it with
an open mind.
Q: How can Malaysians do more to support the

T he Annexe Gallery has come a long way

since its humble beginning. Located right
within Central Market, the gallery’s location
couldn’t be more perfect.
Art takes itself in many forms and the Annexe
Gallery is advocated on the philosophy that
it will serve all forms of creativity. With this
founding belief, it has established itself as the
city’s Mecca for the purveyors and lovers of art.
KL Lifestyle talks to Jerome Kugan, media
manager of Annexe Gallery.
Q: What is the story behind the Annexe
Gallery?
The Annexe Gallery opened in January 2007,
in part to complement the rebranding of
Central Market, when the entire Central Market
complex came under a new management.
Previously, the space had been subdivided and
rented out as office spaces. Architects Nani
Kahar and Peter Kiernan were hired by the new
Central Market management as consultants for
the re-design of the annexe to convert it into
a gallery, and Pang Khee Teik was hired to
become the gallery’s arts programme director.
Currently, the Annexe Gallery is one of the
few semi-public multi-purpose arts venues
within the downtown KL area. We feature
an ever-changing schedule of exhibitions,
performances, talks, film screenings and other
events. Aside from Pang, the Annexe Gallery is
staffed by Lim Chung Wei, the arts manager,
and myself, as the media manager.
architecture and spacious-yet-cozy interiors, it
was decided early on that the Annexe Gallery
should be home to a variety of arts events. In
arts scene?
By attending art exhibitions and performances.
Talking about it and giving artists/artistes
a way, this was a move to reinvigorate the arts constructive feedback. People shouldn’t think
scene in the area and also to provide a platform that art is pretentious or inaccessible. It doesn’t
for contemporary arts practices that are more matter if you think that you don’t know enough
daring and critical. about art. It really begins with finding an entry
point, a piece of art or the work of an artist
Q: What aspiration does The Annexe Gallery whom you can relate to. Of course, art buyers
have for the local arts scene? are important too. But it’s more fulfilling to buy a
The Annexe Gallery aspires to be the venue for work of art that you feel strongly about.
the convergence of the various contemporary
arts practices and disciplines in the Klang Q: How do events like the Art Expo Malaysia
Valley. contribute to the local arts scene?
I see the Art Expo as an excellent opportunity
Q: Who are the local art supporters? for many local galleries to showcase their
Middle class, educated, with a lot of disposable contribution to the local art scene. It’s also
income. Serious art collectors often buy works great for international and local visitors to the
of art because they want to support the local Expo to feast their eyes on the best of what the
art scene and/or a particular artist whom they local contemporary art scene has to offer.
feel strongly about. They usually consider the
works they buy as a form of investment. Casual Visit the Annexe Gallery at Booth 6 during the
collectors, on the other hand, buy because Art Expo Malaysia 2009.
they’re attracted to a single piece of art. Then
there are supporters who don’t buy art, but work
within the field or write about it and contribute
to the discourse about the arts scene – their
contribution is more subtle; they prove in their
support that arts can enrich the human soul.
Q: What is the Malaysian art scene like?
Individuals and groups already entrenched
in the arts scene can come across to people
outside the field as being territorial or cliquey,
or even unnecessarily flamboyant. But it’s the