UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries Dean Dr David Tneh Cheng Eng was recently selected as the top 10 creatives/artists/writers by Project Future Malaysia. The creative arts initiative was funded by Chevening and the British High Commission of Kuala Lumpur. The project selected the best proposals from Malaysians and awarded them a grant to “create works that create conversations, raise public consciousness, ignite the human spirit and question what it means to live with humanity” in a pandemic world. The project aimed to reimagine the future of the country and project possible visions and possibilities for Malaysia’s future by reimagining “ideas and creative solutions” through the creative works that create conversations on any of the following themes: human rights, the environment and sustainability, international relations and politics.

Dr David expressed, “I would like to thank the project coordinators for the opportunity to amalgamate aspects of future studies with art.” He added, “This is a new field for me and I thank them for their openness in accepting my ideas.” His proposed artwork will be on migrant culture and food identity in Malaysia.

Previously, Dr David was awarded the Maureen and Mike Mansfield foundation grant in 2020 for a creative literacy project for migrant children in Petaling Jaya. In 2019, he was the recipient of the US Department of States’ Study of the United States (SUSI) summer fellowship to New York University at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Project Future Malaysia draws inspiration from the speculative fiction genre in the literary world and the term ‘Afrofuturism’, defined as a cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore elements of black history and culture. This project explores and addresses the themes and concerns of Malaysians by envisioning and re-imagining possible futures for the nation.

For more info on Project Future Malaysia: https://projectfuturemalaysia.com/.