Kamal Sabran

Kamal Sabran is a Malaysian artist-researcher who lives and works in Ipoh, Malaysia. He received his Ph.D. in Art and Design (New Media) from Universiti Teknologi MARA. His work is interdisciplinary and exists at the intersections of art, science, technology, and spirituality. His art-based research work focuses on art interventions for human mental health and well-being. His artistic endeavors are experimental music, performance art, video art, and electronic installations. Kamal’s work is collaborative, and he frequently seeks collaborations with other artists, musicians, choreographers, researchers, and scientists. He received the Malaysian National Art Gallery Best New Media Artist award for young and contemporary in 2004 and won Best NOKIA Music Video Director award in 2005. Also in 2005, he was the artist-in-residence at the Malaysian National Space Agency, and in 2015, he was the artist-in-residence at the 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica, California. He is also the founder of Space Gambus Experiment, an experimental music/sound art collective, and the Ipoh Experimental Art School, a creative space focusing on producing experimental art projects. He has produced numerous film scores for award-winning films with directors such as Mamat Khalid, Shanjhey Kumar, Tan Chui Mui, Ho Yuhang, Pete Teo, among many others. He is currently a lecturer-researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang.

Aida Redza

Aida Redza is one of Malaysia’s leading contemporary dancers and choreographers, noted for creating multimedia performances. Based in Penang, she is the founder of Wind River Productions, the artistic principal of Studio Pentas and a member of Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio. Her major recent productions as a performance-maker include “Semangat Restu Padi” (2021), “Wandering Padi” (Ansan Street Arts Festival, South Korea, 2019), “Reclaim” (George Town Festival, 2019), “Entranced: A Mystical Gathering” (Hamamatsu, Japan, 2018), “Call and Response: The Spaces Between” (Penang, 2018), “Entranced: An Evening with a Ghost” (DiverseCity KL International Arts Festival, 2017), “The Italian Restaurant” (George Town Festival, 2017) and “Moved By Padi” (George Town Festival, 2016). Aida has a strong commitment to international creative collaborations. She was the director of a workshop for international collaboration presented at the Tokyo Festival Asia Performing Arts Forum in 2016, and this led her to establish TradeWinds Arts Exchange to foster cultural relations between Penang and Japan, featuring her work with the celebrated Noh master Naohiko Umewaka. In 2018 Aida was named as Kakiseni’s Gamechanger at the 15th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards.