Ep 44: Joe Sidek - Festival Director, George Town Festival - a podcast by Ling Yah

Best Known as director of the George Town Festival, Joe Sidek has established himself as one of Malaysia’s strong advocates for the arts.

Prior to becoming a festival director, Joe Sidek played major roles in various forms of art expression – from event management, art curator-ship, restaurant ownership and even costume design. He also still runs his family–owned textile chemical factory, Chemdyes Sdn Bhd.

Since 2010 when he began GTF, in 2018, Joe also directed the 3-year-old Rainforest Fringe Festival in Kuching, having founded the festival in 2017. He also helmed the Butterworth Fringe Festival for 3 years (2015–2017) and earlier in 2014, he brought Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival to Southeast Asia and showcased the inaugural Tropfest South East Asia in Penang.

He is 2020-2022 chairman of Federation of Asian Cultural Promotion, an industry expert on the industry panel of Malaysian federal agency for the arts and culture, Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA), and chairman of Penang Arts Council.

In this STIMY episode, Joe shares his fascinating life story: from wanting to do art in Central Saint Martins to returning to Malaysia, recovering from his first “failed’ festival to eventually be one of Malaysia’s biggest, and most well-known advocate for the arts & culture!

Highlights:

• 1:52: Joe has noble blood!
• 3:18: Moving to Penang
• 3:42: Why Joe thinks Penangites are “arrogant, confident, and proud of who they are”
• 4:36: Wanting to do art in London & John Galliano
• 5:45: Not wanting to return home
• 6:50: His relationship with his dad
• 10:37: Taking over the family business
• 11:35: Why Joe’s first festival in 2001 failed
• 14:33: Becoming the festival director of the George Town Festival 
• 17:02: Getting help from the Penang Chief Minister
• 19:15: Why Joe brings in not just local, but also international artists
• 21:48: How Ernest Zacharevic got involved in the George Town Festival (resulting in the subsequent street art boom!)
• 24:01: Gentrification & over-commercialisation
• 24:54: GTF’s student and community tickets project
• 31:49: Finding historical, old & meaningful places to stage GTF
• 32:41: The biggest challenges of a festival director
• 35:50: Artists that have adapted well to COVID/virtual world
• 37:50: How artists can build their personal brand & stand out 
• 42:21: How to become a festival director
• 49:45: Where artists can find their community

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/44  

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