Nusantara Archive in Penang “Lakec – Storyteller and Very Simple River” Screening & Thematic Publication Launch

The NML Residency & Nusantara Archive Project started compiling research on Southeast Asia in 2017 and reached out to Singapore and Penang, Malaysia at the end of 2019 to form cultural alliances through biennials, independent spaces, and book clubs in Southeast Asia.

Starting from June 2019, Rikey Tenn Bui-Ki (founder, Nusantara Archive Project) and Chang En-Man (artist) conducted local research and completed the opening performance for the Singapore Biennale and Snail Paradise, a work that was later selected for the Singapore Biennale. They released their research pamphlet - Nusantara Archive 10: Chang En-Man – Snail Paradise - during the opening week of the biennial. Before the duo left for Singapore and Malaysia, the Nusantara Archive hosted a lecture on Zaidi Musa and Kedai Hitam Putih at the Open Contemporary Art Center in Taipei to introduce cultural landscapes and knowledge production from new generations unique to Malaysia. In December 2019, the Nusantara Archivecollaborated with Ruang Kongsi (Malaysian art organization) to screen the Lakec, a documentary filmed by Posak Jodian (Taiwanese artist), Jeffrey Lim (Malaysian artist), and the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC). The documentary explored the identity, cultures, beliefs, and traditional lifestyles of Austronesians and their challenges under existing institutions.