10 Days of Festival-Filled Fun in Penang

Year-end gatherings highlight the best in literature, art and music in the pearl of the Orient

Literature critics, art enthusiasts and audiophiles will have to mark their calendars for the months of November and December as the stunning and remarkable “10 Days 3 Festivals” in Penang returns this year. The objective of having all these festivals back to back is to draw in visitors from all over and to ensure a fruitful stay and an enjoyable holistic arts festival in Penang. Read on more to find out about each individual event and what will be the highlights at each festival.

George Town Literary Festival (above) 

25 – 27 November

The George Town Literary Festival (GTLF), one of the most beloved and respected literary festivals in the region, returns for the sixth year in celebration of poetry, prose and spoken word from 25 to 27 November.

Helmed by Festival Director, Bernice Chauly, the three-day festival will see panel discussions, readings, spoken word performances, dance and film screenings around the festivals theme; “Hiraeth”, a Welsh word which means “the longing for a homeland that is no longer there”. The theme captures a universal unrest and longing for a better world in a reality that sees mass displacement of people, gross violations of human rights and growing chasm caused by the proliferation of crippling neoliberalism and regressive ideologies.

The festival’s stellar line-up of world literary giants and respected social commentators include Stefan Hertmans (Belgium), Adriaan van Dis (Netherlands), Olga Martynova (Germany), AC Grayling and James Scudamore (UK), Ayu Utami (Indonesia), Tishani Doshi and Mahesh Dattani (India).

This year’s keynote address will be delivered by leading Malaysian feminist activist and writer Zainah Anwar, with headlining Malaysian writers including National Laureate of Malaysia Muhammad Haji Salleh, Tash Aw, Faisal Tehrani, Dina Zaman and Karim Raslan.

GTLF 2016 is free and open to public, with the exception of the writing workshops.

In-Between Arts Festival

26 – 30 November

The In-Between Arts Festival (IBAF) is a five-day festival dedicated to those who are looking forward to ‘taste’ food in a different way. IBAF this year will offer a concoction of events, featuring food zines, food presentation with an unusual twist, and definitely a lot of food in your mouth. Anchored with the mission to serve a unique experience of food and zines, IBAF will be a great platform for the community to interact and exchange views on art, food and culture. This year’s organiser, Hin Bus Depot is driven towards showcasing contemporary and progressive artists, artworks and art forms, which will be infused to manifest and reflect this edition of IBAF. Expect programmes like food demonstrations, cook-off challenges, sharing sessions, workshops and more will be held throughout the festival.

Penang Island Jazz Festival

1 – 4 December

The Penang Island Jazz Festival began in 2004 and ever since then it has been held on the first weekend of December for the past 12 years. The dates for this year’s 12th + 1 edition are from the 1st to 4th December. Poised as the annual musical destination for music lovers from all over the world, the festival’s four-day programme includes the outdoor Jazz By The Beach, the Creative Malaysia Fringe Programme, Music Workshops, the Island Music Forum, Jazz Gallery Exhibitions, the early morning Sunrise @ Tropical Spice Garden and more! The festival’s main stage programme features a wide variety of musical styles and among some of this year’s performers are saxophone/guitar duo of Nicole Jo & Peter Fine from Switzerland, harmonica/keyboardist Mathias Heise with his group Quadrillion, Ethnic-jazz group from Korea – Kim Oki Band, Triple Standard from Japan, Rafal Sarnecki Quintet – a Poland-Malaysian collaboration and others.