 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2003-03-21 - 3:14 p.m.
I declare - I am indeed an ardent fan of Kakiseni.com, a Malaysian arts website. I often visit the site to check out the articles available in Kakiseni.com. Most of them are written by some of the most prolific writers in Malaysia. To name a few, I particularly like the articles composed by Faisal Tehrani, Antares and Amir Muhammad. The articles available there are mostly entertaining, amusing and more importantly, highly informative.
In my personal capacity, the existence of Kakiseni.com is timely and important. I regard that as a symbiosis in our arts scene. I sincerely hope that Kakiseni.com will grow into a local arts portal where a truly multimedia experience can be found; i.e. buying tickets online, online Arts Exhibition, watch excerpts of plays and more. I do hope, it would evolve to become a hub for arts community in defining its ways to meet challenges in the new era, and place Malaysia at par with other nations with undeniably promising culture and art-scene.
Kakiseni.com was co-founded by Kathy Rowland. Least that I know, that Kathy is a Malaysian until I read an article written about Kakiseni.com that appeared in the Options section of The Edge. Kathy is also one of the founding members of ‘Artis Pro Aktif’ and co-produced the APA Festival in 1998.
Recently I was given a chance to conduct an e-mail interview with Kathy. Here’s what I managed to get out of her:
1. Kathy, could you please introduce yourself?
I'm Malaysian, originally studied English Lit at UM, but then moved into Arts Management and Public Affairs about 11 years ago. Am currently pursuing an MA at NUS on a Research Grant - researching the impact of post-69 policies on theatre in English.
2. How did Kakiseni.com come about, who originated the idea? Was it a collective idea? How did you start the ball rolling? Was it difficult? What was the very first thing done to see it ‘live’ on the net?
Jenny Daneels was involved in another website previous to Kakiseni. It’s a registered company, not a collective. The basic idea was to use the internet to provide accurate, comprehensive information on the arts in Malaysia to an increasingly internet savvy public. We had a lot of support from the start, especially from the arts community itself, and although there have been hairy moments, its slowly gaining a momentum of its own. We went live with our events database (I think).
3. What is the modus operandi of Kakiseni.com and if it is a business entity, what is the core business and if it is non-profit entity, how do you sustain the ‘existence’ of Kakiseni.com?
Our business model is multi-dimensiononal (i.e. we'll do anything for money!). We sell our content to both off-line and online publications, as well as to Maxis Mobile for its SMS service. We also get some money from advertisers and sponsors, and also from project based work, i.e. the Cameronian Arts Awards, the Online Arts Directory etc.
We also keep our operation costs to a minimum, although we pay everyone who works for us, including an Events Editor, our webmaster, Inscribe Media and our writers.
4. How was Kakiseni.com initial public response?
Positive. And now that we've been around for a year and a half, people are beginning to realize that we're here to stay!
5. Describe the audience Kakiseni.com is targeting. If I am a new visitor to Kakiseni.com, what can I expect? And, what are the reasons for me to keep on coming back?
It’s twofold. Firstly, we service the existing art lover/audience member by creating a one-stop website of an events diary , contacts, reviews, profiles, previews, etc. Secondly, we've tried to build a more relaxed, fun, egalitarian image of the arts to demystify it for those who have the perception that the arts is elite.
6. How much has the Malaysian arts scene changed since the introduction of Kakiseni.com to the public?
As much as we would like to say that we are responsible for significant change, I don’t think we can make such a claim! The scene has grown quite a bit. New venues - the AST Bangsar, the reopening of the Town Hall Auditorium, AST Greenhall in Penang are tangible examples, as are the new performing arts departments at institutions of higher learning. Despite the economic downturn, there have been new shows, new companies, new artists, new galleries. We do hope that by having good info on events, we're helping in the marketing of the arts, and helping fill people's lives with art and culture! If we can potentially bring about change it will be through the Cameronian Arts Awards launched in 2002. While people have had some reservations about the awards, it has made us take a closer look at arts practice, and engendered a critical dialogue on a more public level.
7. How much Kakiseni.com chance since its commencement?
It’s a work in progress, so it’s evolved quite a bit over the past year. We're more out there, more involved in the community, and also, growing, slowly but growing nonetheless.
8. Malaysia is busy developing its content codes etc to meet the challenges of the borderless information exchanges, especially on the Internet. As you may see, there are no definite guidelines to sift the contents. How is this scenario effecting the operation of Kakiseni.com and how does it shape the content delivery within Kakiseni.com as well as the audience?
It’s a problem which affects the arts community, and the audience first and foremost, and as these two groups are our main clients, it also effects Kakiseni. The authorities seem to be uncertain about what they really want, when it comes down to the details, and as a result, we have cases like the refusal of permits to the Vagina Monologues restaging last year. It causes enormous strains on the artists who operate under difficult circumstances to begin with, and is also inconvenient to the audience. Ironically though, arbitrary enforcement of "content guidelines" which sometimes result in shows being postponed, cancelled or censored makes Kakiseni's role important. If there is a cancellation of a show, we can deliver the info to our 5000 subscribers immediately. As an website, our articles and reader forums are also more open, and people can discuss things more openly, though the level of discussion is not always satisfying.
9. To many, Kakiseni.com is just another site, like a dormant website where content is updated on a periodical basis. Is there any plan to further equip the site with e-commerce engine or any other state of the art Internet technology to recruit more loyal audience to the site?
Yes, we've initiated plans for online ticket sales etc, but it will be a while before that it up and running.
10. If there is ‘one’ word that could encapsulate the meaning, objective and nature of Kakiseni.com, what would that be?
"Growth" - of the arts, of audiences, of quality, of critical thinking, of money ......
11. The ‘user comments’ section on each of the articles featured in Kakiseni.com has become a place for ‘Internet therapy’ of sort lately, where one could find personal attacks of all kinds directed towards individuals concerned. Did Kakiseni.com created a monster by allowing ‘free speech’ on the Internet?
What happens on Kakiseni is merely a reflection of intellectual maturity and responsibility out there. If our educational and other institutions don’t engender critical thinking, then the early days of "free speech" will inevitably be rocky. It’s a problem, and we're still trying to work out how to maintain the integrity of the internet with regards to freedom of expression, but also to safeguard the interests of the people attacked on the site.
12. I did notice that you do moderate the section, but partially. Do you in fact moderate the ‘user comments’ section? Why did some slanderous and clearly malicious comments get away unnoticed, while some were moderated?
As with all things, its a judgment call on our part. If the language used is abusive or vulgar and the comments libel, we remove it. If a troll attacks, as has happened, we have to "lock" the comments in that particular forum as at the moment, we don’t have the resources to monitor the comments 24/7.
13. What else can we expect from Kakiseni.com in the near future. Are we going to see any changes on its layout, or perhaps direction? Where do you see Kakiseni.com in 10 years time?
We'll be working on getting more quality content, the online ticket sales I mentioned earlier, plus of course the second Cameronian Arts Awards going.
14. Do you have plans to make Kakiseni.com available to non-Internet users out there?
If we can find sponsors, we would like to launch a print version.
15. Kathy, what is your definition of: Community, Power and Art?
Gosh, this takes me back to first year Sociology at Uni! I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know! I can’t offer a coherent definition, but I can say that I have the now old-fashioned believe in the ability of the arts to enlighten minds, enrich lives and in that way empower people, particularly those who are marginalized from other means of power/action.
16. When and how did you first become interested in the arts?
I don’t come from a social class in which high culture and the arts are part and parcel of growing up. But, there were members of my family were artistic, and that sparked something at a young age. But my love for reading has had perhaps the greatest impact on my interest in the arts.
17. What are your artistic influences?
Writers such as Rushdie, Said, Bourdieu, I have appalling taste in music - pop music, plus my brother's two Bobs (Marley and Dylan) tapes were an influence.
18. Do you sincerely think Malaysia has the potential to become a hub for artistic talents? Especially in the line of theater and films?
The talent is out there for sure, but until we dismantle the hierarchy that places the sciences above the arts, we'll be a hub of mediocrity as our artists take their talent elsewhere.
19. With strict censorship laws and whatnot, do you seriously think we will be able to organize a world class arts festival one day, right here in Malaysia?
I'd say that its not so much censorship laws but the lack of a political will, and a crippling, senseless administrative procedure which is holding us back. Yes, I do think that we can do it. In fact, the Sarawak Rainforest Festival, even some of the shows at Balai Seni Lukis, even Istana Budaya have brought in work that would probably shock the guardians of public moral.
20. Any closing statement on Kakiseni.com?
Log On!
* Suggest a column/blog topic
Oleh Nizam Zakaria
