Malaysia promotes its art world during its Visit Year 2014

KUALA LUMPUR – Among the number of brochures edited to celebrate and promote the Visit Malaysia Year 2014, there is one which will certainly attract interest. For the first time, the National Visual Arts Gallery has endorsed a tourism event and take the opportunity to highlight the increasingly interesting Malaysian art scene. Arts were already promoted within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. A couple of years ago back, former Minister of Tourism and today Tourism Malaysia Chairwoman Dato’ Dr Ng Yen Yen started to highlight arts as a promotional activity drawing tourism. During her time at the Ministry, September was declared the Month of the Arts with many events –exhibitions, art shows, performances- organized all across the country. 
 

“As Visit Malaysia Year is upon us, the National Visual Arts Gallery prepares itself to receive more guests domestic and international and has prepared a guidebook for navigating the art landscape called “Malaysia Visit Malaysia Year 2014-Art” to help facilitating visitors in their itinerary planning”, says in the brochure’s foreword Haned Masjak, Director General of the National Visual Arts Gallery. Highlight of the year will be from June to December MCAT (Malaysia Contemporaries Art Tourism) Malaysian Show which will highlight the best of the country’s contemporary scene. A dozen large art exhibitions are also organized all year around showing young artists, established art masters but also designs or books. Workshops, open days will also occur all year around and are listed in the brochure. 
 

Arts events will not only be organized in Kuala Lumpur. The Art Festival of Georgetown in Penang will highlight Asian arts during the entire month of August followed by the Langkawi Art Biennale in October. In November, the Melaka Arts and Performance Festival  as well as the Sasaran International Art Festival, a village in Kuala Selangor which is turning into an annual important event for arts. 
 

VMY 2014 will be the biggest and grandest ever tourism celebration with hundreds of events and festivals all lined up to welcome the world and will contribute to the target of 36 million international travellers in Malaysia expected by 2020.