PLAYGROUND ON ISLAND FROM SOUTH KOREA

WORKSHOPS.... 30 artists and creators from South Korea who conducted Digital Art workshops for six days in Kolej Yayasan Sabah recently.

By : REBECCA CHONG

KOLEJ Yayasan Sabah (KYS) in collaboration with the Sabah Computer Society hosted the 3rd installment of 'Playground on Island' in Kota Kinabalu from the 25th to 30th of November recently.

Digital Playground was initiated by the Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul in 2007 and has since expanded its presence to Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo, and hence the name 'Playground on Island'.

The 6-day-event provided digital art workshops such as animation, VFX, motion graphics, short films and illustrations and live space video streaming and photography lessons. The event attracted over 120 enthusiasts  from KYS, Education Technology Department (BTP), Sabah Art Gallery and other parties.

The 30 professional artists and creators from Korea conducted the workshops.

Digital Playground began in 2005 in South Korea and became so successful that the Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Soongsil University and Joongang University of Korea decided to turn Digital Playground into an international project.

They chose Kota Kinabalu as a venue to stage their overseas experiment and collaborated with KYS.Thus the "Digital Playground on Island" was born.

In 2010, over 30 Koreans descended in Kota Kinabalu to showcase this interactive media art and conduct  workshops in collaboration with KYS.

Local people especially students and teachers at KYS, were thus exposed to digital technology and media art, working and learning alongside Korean artists and digital specialists.

In 2011, the word 'Digital' was dropped to reflect the inclusion of all forms of media art with emphasis on creativity and innovation. In the same year the Sabah Computer Society and the Sabah State Library were included to team up with KYS as the local partners for "Playground on Island 2011".

The collaboration with the Koreans resulted in the introduction of new concepts and technology in digital media to Sabah.

"We have a lot to learn. Professionals from Korea came all the way to Sabah to share their skills and experiences, so hopefully we can learn from them," Bruno Vun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology said during the welcoming dinner of "Playground on Island 2012".

GRAFFITI .....Site Specific Project exhibited in the wellknown 'Graffiti Pillars' at Jalan Ewan in Kota Kinabalu.

Bruno said that he was looking forward to event being repeated next year.

"Playground on Island 2012" is expected to be even bigger and bolder as it reaches out to the general public and makes them aware of the New Digital Media and their application in the new Digital Media age.

This year, apart from the workshops, the participants had the chance to do a project, namely the Site Specific Project which  involved a creation using  plastic garbage items that the participants had gathered in Kota Kinabalu city. The result of this project is exhibited in the wellknown 'Graffiti Pillars' at Jalan Ewan in Kota Kinabalu.

According to the Nathalie Boseul Shin, the project director from Korea, all the projects were open to the public, especially local digital animators and media artists, and not just confined to students.

"I believe that Sabah has tremendous potential as many people here showed great interest and passion in these arts," she said. (Insight Sabah)