Section 1: Applicant Information Name of applicant: Sharon Chin Name of project director: Sharon Chin Name of company: Address (es): Telephone number(s): Email address (es): Website: http://www.sharonchin.com Section 2: Project Information 1. Description of the project ‘In The Land that Never Was Dry’ is a series of graphic non-fiction stories about water in Malaysia. Combining illustration, comics and journalism, the stories (approx 9 in total) explore our relationship to this precious resource. The project will be completed in four phases: Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV
Research, investigation and field work Writing and illustrating Digital publishing on Poskod.my Translation, print publishing and distribution
This proposal seeks funding specifically for Phase I of the project. 2. Objectives of the project a) Understand Context: Identify how one thing connects to another in the issues surrounding water in Malaysia – from ecology (rivers, weather, forests), infrastructure (storage, treatment, supply), policies (land laws, politics, privatization), to culture (religion, traditions, consumer habits) and more. b) Gather Stories: Seek information and personal accounts from primary sources and allow these narratives to shape the work. c) Make People Care: Use comics as a powerful medium to tell important stories in an accessible, entertaining and engaging way. 3. Tangible outcomes of the project a) Documentation of research and fieldwork, in the form of recordings, notes, sketches, photos and info maps. b) Storyboard for ‘In The Land that Never Was Dry’, a detailed thumbnail layout that shows story structure, intended images and text.
4. Significance of the project At the beginning of the year, it did not rain in Port Dickson for four months. For the first time in my life, I experienced a strange and frightening thing: waiting for rain. I remember when the first drops fell. The road steamed. We ran outside to dance on the rock hard ground where the grass had long since died. Water has been on my mind ever since. In Malaysia, the issues surrounding water are complex and not well understood. This is apparent in how citizens remained perplexed as to how a tropical country like ours can face serious water shortages. Malaysians’ propensity to take water for granted is out of touch with reality, and makes it doubly hard to provoke the change in consciousness needed to tackle one of the most urgent issues of our time. Furthermore, in the 24-hour media cycle, news fatigue and information overload is constant. More than ever, we need stories that engage us deeply. This project will use the power of illustrated narrative to connect audiences to a variety of topics about water, such as land-grabbing and over-damming of rivers in East Malaysia, the impact of agricultural palm oil on water quality, the significance of water in Islam, and a D.I.Y. guide to rainwater harvesting, amongst others. Through comics, serious issues can become accessible, relatable and compelling. The combination of words and images can be especially effective in overcoming language barriers. Malaysia has a strong tradition of graphic and sequential storytelling. ‘Ujang’ and ‘Gila-Gila’ magazines have remained popular since the 80s, while the inimitable Lat has never lost his timeless appeal. Other examples include ‘Di Mana Bumi Dipijak’, a 2007 reprint of a 1979 illustrated book telling the history of Malaya leading to independence, and more recently, Zan Azlee’s ‘Adventures of a KL-ite in Afghanistan’. ‘In The Land that Never Was Dry’ will explore the exciting crossroads where comics and incisive, quality journalism meet. It hopes to establish comics as a new way for artists to engage critically with society beyond gallery walls, as well as an innovative addition to the journalist’s toolkit.
5. Time frame of the project Phase Phase I
Phase II & III
Phase IV
Tasks/Milestones Research, set up interviews
Duration 2 weeks
Dates mid Oct – end Oct 2014
Field work
6 weeks
Nov – mid Dec 2014
Collate and organize information
2 weeks
mid Dec – end Dec 2014
First draft storyboard
3 weeks
Jan 2015
Editorial meeting 1
1 week
end Jan 2015
Final draft storyboard
2 weeks
Feb 2015
Editorial meeting 2 Plan publishing schedule
1 week
end Feb 2015
Illustrate and publish stories 1, 2, 3
4 weeks
March 2015
Illustrate and publish stories 4, 5, 6
4 weeks
April 2015
Illustrate and publish stories 7, 8, 9
4 weeks
May 2015
Translation Plan crowdfunding campaign
4 weeks
June 2015
Crowdfunding
4 weeks
July 2015
Design and printing
4 weeks
Aug 2015
Distribution
12 weeks
Sept – Oct 2015
6. Dissemination plan of your project Throughout Phase I, regular updates documenting the progress of my research and fieldwork will be posted to my website. In Phase II and III, the completed stories will be published in partnership with Poskod.my on their website. Poskod.my is an online magazine about city, culture and community. Their reach is roughly 50,000 page views a month and growing. In Phase IV, the stories will be translated into Bahasa Malaysia and other languages. A crowdfunding campaign will be held to finance low cost print editions, which will be distributed to targeted communities.
Section 3: Budget 1. Detailed budget* Phase Phase I
Item/Details Research materials Transport and communications Sabah field trip Sarawak field trip Daily expenses for 2 months Honorarium
Budget (RM) 500 1000 2000 2000 2000 1000
Phase II & III
Daily expenses for 3 months
3000
Honorarium
1000
TOTAL
8500
4000 Phase IV
Translation Daily expenses for 2 months Honorarium Design and printing
3000 2000 1000 5000 11,000 GRAND TOTAL
23,500
* Please note: This proposal only seeks funding for Phase I. Total amount of funding being sought is RM8500.
2. Which other funding organizations have you applied to? What amounts do you expect from these organizations? What are your plans for this project if this application is not successful? As indicated above, this proposal is applying for seed funding to conduct the crucial research and fieldwork portion of the project only. The major expenditure involves two field trips to Borneo, and daily expenses throughout the 3 – 4 month research phase. Phase II and III of the project will be self-funded in partnership with Poskod.my. Phase IV leverages the exposure and momentum created in the previous stages and will attempt to crowdfund the translation, production and distribution of the print editions. If this application is unsuccessful, I will seek funding alternatives and/or consider scaling the project to focus on peninsula Malaysia only.
Section 4: Personal Profile 1. Personal Statement Listen, observe. Think deeply. Follow your thoughts as far as they can go. Make art that makes other people want to make art. Make art that makes people feel that life is worth living. Make art that can exist in many places. Draw everyday. Practice radical inclusivity. Open source everything. Share relentlessly. Be kind. 2. Main activities/past history. In 2007 I was a recipient of the Krishen Jit Astro Fund for ‘Sensors: Banned Books and Other Monsters’, an exhibition about banned books in Malaysia. The ideas and work generated from that project continue to be relevant over the years: The ‘Monsters’ series was exhibited at Incheon Women’s Art Biennale in South Korea in 2009. Locally, it was included in Projek Sentuh (2009) and 528 Tak Nak Potong (2010), events dealing with discrimination and press freedom respectively. The ‘Sensors’ series has been exhibited in Indonesia, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The database of banned books I compiled and analyzed as part of my research is now publicly available online, and has been cited in articles about book banning and censorship. Last year, I completed ‘Mandi Bunga/Flower Bath’ for Singapore Biennale 2013, a public performance that involved bathing together with 100 people in front of the National Museum of Singapore. This project brought together several concerns that had occupied me for years: process, politics, participation, and authenticity. In between these two seminal projects I have made many things, including installations, sculptures, performances, propaganda, and costumes. I’ve written about art, organized art events and co-founded Arteri, a website for art and culture, which was active from 2009 – 2011. Now I find myself at a new phase, searching for ways to engage audiences beyond the context of the art world. ‘In The Land that Never Was Dry’ is part of the beginning stages of this search. 3. CV of applicant Please see attachment 4. Annual number of projects and annual expenditure of these projects. On average 1 - 2 major projects per year since 2005. These include solo exhibitions, festivals, or community events. I also do many smaller projects throughout the year such as group exhibitions, talks, and lectures.
Profile of those involved in the project Sharon Chin (b.1980) is an artist and writer. She makes all kinds of things in all kinds of places, from galleries to city sidewalks. She's hung sails across an embassy lobby, listened to strangers' hearts on the streets of Sydney, and gotten teargassed while wearing a costume of yellow flowers. Most recently, she bathed in public with 100 people for ‘Mandi Bunga/Flower Bath’, a project at Singapore Biennale 2013. www.sharonchin.com Poskod.MY is an online magazine about city, community and culture based in the Klang Valley. We tell stories about Malaysian life: people, places and ideas. We also create special projects that push the boundaries of fiction, photography and multimedia storytelling. Past projects include Futura, Serambi and Cari Makan. We support aspiring writers through the Poskod Journalism Campus and the Writers in Progress traineeship. Poskod.MY is part of the PopFolio network, a PopDigital company. Zedeck Siew is a writer currently based in Port Dickson, Malaysia. He has worked as a journalist, editor and critic for publications like Kakiseni, The Nut Graph, KLue, and Poskod.my. His first published short story appeared in Silverfish New Writing anthology (2000). He was writer-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan in 2011. He is working on his first novel. He dabbled in performance – most notably in Five Arts Centre’s Wayang Fajar (2009). He has also appeared in films like The Big Durian (2003) and Via (2012). He is part of a twoperson game-design art collective, CENTAUR (the Centre for Artful and Useful Recreation). Section 5: Additional Information and related work samples Please see attachments for the following: a) Mind map outlining interconnected topics concerning water in Malaysia. b) Work sample 1: ‘My Samsung, My Best Fiend’, a 9-panel illustrated story about our troubled relationship to smartphones and the workers who make them. c) Work sample 2: Zine I drew for ‘Mandi Bunga/Flower Bath’ project that includes artist statement, activities and comics. d) Work sample 3: A portrait and short text about Mr. Raman, my gardener.