Arts On The Move: Fundraising To Keep The Arts Going

A call to help the movement after Arts On The Move takes a pause last September.

A partnership between Think City and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (operator of the Kelana Jaya LRT line) paved the way for Arts On The Move (AOTM) that has been held since 2016 and brought forth excitement to selected public spaces in Kuala Lumpur with curated performances that are unique like operas by Teochew Puppet & Opera House and the French military bagpipe band, Bagad Lann Bilhoue. With having passersby be their audience, AOTM’s initiative to present calibre visual and performing arts was  supported by Yayasan Hasanah, Citi Foundation and Khazanah Nasional Bhd.  

Think City’s programme director for partnerships, Lee Jia-Ping exclaimed on the reaction of the public to their arts, “Our carefully curated weekly performances have proven a hit with commuters at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, other than showcasing proven local and foreign talent, AOTM affords people the opportunity to be exposed to a broad spectrum of arts and cultural entertainment that they may otherwise not have the opportunity to witness on an average day.”

Aside from being a platform for the performance arts, AOTM also includes visual arts in their displays when they made use of the 60-metre-long underground pedestrian walkway that is part of the Masjid Jamek station and featured exhibitions like the Harapan Sentiasa Ada art exhibition by domestic violence survivors aiding the Women’s Aid Organisation (calls to the WAO hotline risen by 35% within the month of the showcase).

Prasarana which has hosted performances and exhibitions under AOTM is also hesitant to see a standstill in the works of the initiative and Prasarana’s head of group communications and strategic marketing, Lim Jin Aun also stated, “We could see that a certain measure of vibrancy has been created in the Masjid Jamek area since AOTM began, and it would be a pity if this effort is halted.”

Think City is now resorting to crowdfunding to keep AOTM going, with the immediate need to raise at least RM150,000 to keep AOTM running next year. The funds are to be used to pay for performances from 5pm to 7pm every Thursday at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, as well as for the creation and production of visual arts display area at the pedestrian underpass.

More on AOTM can be found on Instagram (@ or@) and Facebook (). To contribute, visit simplygiving.com/event/aotmkl

---

Featured Image and images source: Think City.