Psst.

There's a gig this July. With an all-girl line-up. And perhaps a boy or two in skirts/baju kurungs.

Details are as follows:

What: Girls Out Loud
When: July 19 (Sunday) @ 7 pm
Where: Food Foundry, Section 17, PJ

Gregarious girls up for performing, contact us: nowhitespace@gmail.com

WE ARE BACK!

After a year's absence, we're back home and already gearing up for our first gig of the year! I'm not sure if anyone still follows this blog, but...


Project OMG!
(is better than ice-cream)













31st May 2009
7pm
Admission is FREE






Via facebook

Hello!

We apologise for the unexplained absence of our bi-monthly gigs. And for the neglect of this blog. So if there are any of you still sticking around (and we hope you are!) we would like to share a little of what is going on underneath the silence.

We have since decided to go on a short break, beginning July, as Priya and I had commitments that took us overseas for nearly a month. We were back for awhile, but now my cohort has left for London (again!) to represent Malaysia on the UK Speechless tour, doing her poetry thing.

Besides traipsing in foreign lands, Project OMG has also since found itself homeless, as The Dram Projects now no longer exist as a studio, but will be morphing into an extension of the cafe next door. We lament this terrible and horrible loss, but we are thankful and immensely grateful for TDP's support and generosity in the past 2-ish years.

(Time to find a new place to squat, it seems)

And in between all this, many other things have cropped up, leaving us with barely any time to sit and be still. But all these said, we have not left Project OMG behind- we're only on a break, and breaks, by their very nature, don't last very long.

We hope to resume at the end of the year, if all things work out. And we anticipate the moment we get to announce it to you all. Thank you, as always, for the love and support.


x
Pat + Priya

Under the umbrella of The Literary Activists, The Dram Projects (with the itchy fingers of some of your friendly neighbourhood folks responsible for stirring up the art/lit scene) will be bringing to you Random Acts of Poetry, featuring Blue Scream Murmur, a group of performance poets from Belfast, Derry, London, Scotland and New York.

The night will also feature local poets Bernice Chauly, The Happy Unicorn Collective, Elaine Foster (winner of April's KL Poetry Slam), and many more.

We will also be supporting a local art collective, Project Connect. Entry for the event is by donation so do give generously.

Chapbooks and other interesting and useful bits and pieces will be on sale too.

Random Acts of Poetry will be held on 2nd July 2008, 8.30pm, at The Dram Projects, Petaling Jaya.

Check the Facebook event page.

PROJECT OMG!: EDISI KHAS




We're on! And because we can, we're making it a special edition.

Basic skelly details for the moment (because Pri's frolicking in some state up north and I am being tossed and pull in various directions [and not in some sunny state up north])

1 June 2008, Sunday
8pm
The Dram Projects, PJ

Folks on feature:

Henry Raby, Ben Winterton and Anna Wilcox from the UK
The Project Connect team, Poet Stories, kG, Nicholas Wong, Reza & Evanna
and many more

And a possible live telecast of the night over to The Fleapit in London :) It's all good.


P/s: Facebook us up!

This is What Happened

The 'This is Now' happening landed last Sunday and it was good :) People came in and freely wielded brushes, pens, crayons and spray cans (!) on walls of paper and lengths of cloth- writing poetry, drawing dreams, and creating strange imagery. Thanks for those who came, and for your support, hope you OD-ed on art. For those of you who missed it, this is what happened:



Thank you Dram Projects (again) for always humouring us. We promise to mop the floor later.


Ciplak in the fullness of noise-making-glory.


Wayang Muzik: Screen painting and music response-thing.


You could even do it outside. With strangers.


Yes it is.


90 Questions: Draw a question and draw your answer.



Transmission: Music, spoken word and visual art collaboration.


We love Dizzy & The.


Conteng-ing on glass.


Visual art projection and music from a Mac.



More pictures can be found here.

Photos by Mooza and Adila :)

Something Is Now Happening


Update!
Our next gig is tentatively slated for 1 June 08, with an edge- we'll be featuring performers from the UK exchange team working with Project Connect (remember them? our last gig was a benefit for this youth+arts+community initiative) But, more news on that soonish. And as usual, if you'd like to be part of this glitzy (maybe) lineup, do drop us an email at nowhitespace@gmail.com or if you prefer human contact: 016 6606460 (Priya) 012 3692681 (Pat) . We say it's time to take your poetry off dog-eared pages and your music out of the bedroom.


And onto more interesting (intriguing, more like) matters:

Project Connect, (yes, that name again) which Project OMG! is part of, will be throwing together a live art pesta called This Is Now Happening:



This Is Now Happening: An Interactive Art Playground

Sunday, May 10th 2008

7-10pm

The Dram Projects, Block B, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, PJ

Admission by donation: RM12

With a full evening of live music, poetry, video and theater, This Is Now wants the audience to join in on the fun. The audience and performers alike will be given materials to paint their interpretations of the event as it happens.
You make the art, we provide the inspiration.

This Is Now is a fund-raising event for Project Connect, a year-long community project aimed at bridging the gaps between youth, community and the arts.

Performances by:
Ciplak, Dizzy & The, Lost Generation Space, Living Arts Dance and more!

For more information & updates via Facebook click here.

30th March punya gig. Thanks Prakash!

Thank you for making last night's gig an awesome one.
The Project Connect team thanks you for your support and contribution. They are stoked. Very. If you bought books or art pieces from us, we hope you are enjoying your purchases.
A big holler of thanks to our lineup of poets, performers and poseurs ;)

Photos to be up soon once they're zapped over to us. Otherwise, if you're resourceful enough, there are some already up and floating about on blogs and Facebook. Keep us bookmarked.

Thanks to Daphne and The Dram Projects for the hugs keeping us alive and housed. And to our sound fellows/Mokhtar, book sellers and photographers.


xx

Project OMG returns this Sunday, 30th March and for a good cause. We're raising funds for Project Connect (MY-UK Cultural Exchange), a one-year creative leadership exchange programme between young emerging artists in UK and M'sia. This initiative seeks to equip and develop them into pioneers and carriers of change in the various creative disciplines (visual art, theatre, writing, etc.) with an emphasis on social responsibility and community outreach. Some of the project participants will be performing that night as well.

We're at the usual spot- Block B, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, PJ
Event begins at 8pm.

See you all there la.


News for Reading Junkies

There'll be a book sale the day before the gig (29 Mar 08) from 9am-3pm at the same place. Come early to grab some good picks and stock up on your yearly reading list. Choose from various genres-from chick lit to classics and children's fare. Profits will be channeled to the abovesaid Project Connect. Organised by the Dram Projects.

Just a quick note to all to say we are not dead yet.

Date of our next gig:

30th March 2008 (Sun)


Poets, performers do get in touch with us for a short slot of word-throwing and mic-wielding. You know it's going to be fun.

And a bit of news from our front as well: Project OMG in collaboration with Cloudbreak will be running poetry workshops at the Australian International School in two week's time.

More photos click here.

Project OMG!: Demystifying Art

25th November (Sunday)
at 8pm
The Dram Projects, Block B Happy Mansion
Jalan 17/13, PJ (click map link above)

Admission is free but donations are welcome.

Featuring music and spoken word by NegaRaKus, Dhivya Jiwa, George Wielgus, Shahril Nizam and more


Hey folks, we're back with our last gig for the year with more grassroots poetry and music. Expect poets with late night radio DJ voices, indie musicians, reggae infused words and perhaps the odd bit of art. And as it has been some ride on the OMG bandwagon, so we would also like to thank you for your support and for being part of this circus ;)

We hope to see you all this Sunday!

And props also to Kakiseni for plugging us!


The 60 Second Plug: "Project OMG!" by Juliet Jacobs

Well guys, next gig's this month, and we're still looking for writers and musicians!

And as an added bonus, we're testing the waters to see if any artists would like to join our little camp of delights :) We're going with the theme 'Demystifying Art', which really isn't as complicated as it sounds - just take a look at the brief below:

One common complaint by the average Malaysian about art: "Aiyoh, I don't understand la!". The myth is that art has to be complex, abstract, high brow - and ultimately, alienate the general public.

Project OMG! invites artists to challenge this myth and boldly state the overlooked fact that art is for everyone. Your work may be a direct interpretation of the theme 'demystifying art', fresh ideas to make art appeal to a wider audience or a simple attempt to make meaningful art that is pretension-free. It may be painting on crushed beer cans, sidewalk art, a collection of interesting grocery lists - how would you compel people to see the art in everyday living? How would you define art at the grassroots level?

Either email us a preview of your work (no larger than 300 KB) to nowhitespace@gmail.com or contact Priya (016 - 660 6460) and we'll work something out.

We're looking to stage an exhibition of sorts alongside our regular poetry/music gig on Nov 25 2007, so do send your applications soon!

*Note: Due to my being bad with numbers, there's been a mix up with the dates in posts elsewhere. The date of the gig is NOV 25th 2007, SUNDAY.

Bite-sized Goodness

We're going light and bite sized with the spotlight on the words and tunes themselves.



Sneaking up this September as promised!

Project OMG!: An Evening of Musical & Literary Snacks
Sunday, 23rd September 2007
8.00pm
at The Dram Projects (next to Food Foundry) (map)

Donations at the door (to help keep us alive!)
Edible snacks will be served as well. Yes, the real stuff.

For further enquiries email us at nowhitespace@gmail.com or you can contact Patricia (012 7839006) or Priya (016 6606460)


See you all there then?

*Updates! Line up!

Zlikha Batsheba, Catalina Rembuyan, Sheena Baharuddin

with music by Ray Cheong and Rina S.

and featuring a ragtag band with a certain Daphne Lee in it, and a djembe (now known as Mojo Pin)

The Merdeka Session: Thank you!

A big thank you to all of you who came, and for your support! We had fun, hope you did too.


The awesome crowd :)


Rashdan Harith


Tshiung Han See


kG


Chalk art. An excuse for us to have a little fun even while piecing this gig together.


Sharanya Manivannan


Dervin of The Mary Jane Foundation.


See you at our next outing? ;)

If you'd like to get in touch with us, email at nowhitespace@gmail.com
In order to exist and thrive we live on the kindness of people kind enough to support this cause. If you'd like to keep this project alive, we would love to hear from you. It doesn't have to be monetary - it can be venue/space for future gigs, printing facilities, allowing us to place flyers/posters at your premises/college/school, helping us distribute and publicise, amps, visual art - the list goes on.


Photography courtesy of Prakash Daniel. For more pictures, clickr over here.

+ Photos from someone in the audience! clickr here.

We're back and we're riding on the wave that is merdeka, pretty much like everyone else. It'll be a night of home-bred thoughts through poetry, lyrics and rhythm. Patriotism optional. But if you feel like it you can bring your miniature flags along and fly them. It'll be fun.

The Merdeka Session

Sunday, 19th August 2007
8.00pm
The Dram Projects (next to Food Foundry cafe)
Block B, Happy Mansion, Sect. 17/13, PJ (map)
Admission free


Tshiung Han See, kG, Gary Ooi, Jasmine Low, Dhivya Jiwa

and featuring: Rashdan Harith, The Mary Jane Foundation

If you flip through the pages of Youth2 today in The Star you will find this
interesting read :)

And if you are here visiting because of the link provided in the article, hello there :D We would love to hear what you think or have to say about the article, the 'poetry scene' in Malaysia, feedback if you have been to our events etc. Or questions even. Like perhaps how you can be part of our readings or gigs. Or why are we even doing this. Anything (that falls within the subject, of course).

It's worm-can opening time :)

Benjamin Zephaniah @ Marmalade

KLILF '07 wasn't the lit festival I envisioned it to be, but all's good when you can sit back and listen to a performance poet like Benjamin Zephaniah. Priya and I met him at Marmalade, and we left very happy. Very inspired. And very happy.

We are itching to do a gig of some kind this month of April. Poets and musicians, take note!

A Poet Called Benjamin Zephaniah

Yes, he will be gracing our valley at last at the upcoming KL Lit Fest '07. We await with antsy anticipation.

BENJAMIN AT KLILF 2007
Visit Silverfishbooks for further details.

BENJAMIN AT CENTRAL MARKET ANNEXE
Benjamin will also perform for the public on 30 March 2007 alongside local acts such as Rahmat Haron (artist, writer and street poet) and music by Tenderfist. Details below:
Date Friday, 30 March 2007
Venue Central Market Annexe, Kuala Lumpur
Time 8.30p.m.
Admission RM10 at the door (reservations not necessary)



About Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was born in the district of Handsworth in Birmingham. His poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and many reflect his thoughts on issues such as racism, animal rights, pollution and gender equality.

At the age of 22, Benjamin headed south to London where Page One Books published his first book Pen Rhythm. His mission was to take poetry everywhere and more than twenty five years later, Benjamin has travelled to many countries sharing his work and now comes to KL!