After a successful first outing in 2015, the Visual Arts Expo will be making a return for 2016, and much like last year, they’re bringing in some of the biggest names in Japan’s creative industry.
Scheduled to be held on the 3rd until the 5th of June, VAX 2016 aims to be the one-stop location for creatives to gather and present to parties their ideas and portfolio, giving them the opportunity to expand their services and reach into larger markets outside of Malaysia.
Headlining VAX 2016 are Japanese publishing company VisualArt’s Co. Ltd., a company well known for the publishing and distribution of visual novels made by visual novel masters Key. Key will also be attending the event as Key’s musician and composer Orito Shinji, as well as illustrator and character designer Itaru Hinoue will be present at the event. Both of them will also be hosting a presentation panel on stage. Studio GAINAX will also be returning to VAX 2016 as GAINAX president Yoshinari Asao will be a guest speaker at the event.
As for live performances, VAX 2016 will be hosting Mika Kobayashi, an artist well known for providing songs for animes such as Kill La Kill, Attack on Titan and Gundam Unicorn. Also new to VAX is Tetsuro Shimaguchi, the leader of the samurai sword artist troupe known as KAMUI. For those who don’t know, KAMUI is known for performances that revolve around Kengido and are often accompanied by various music styles from traditional Japanese to modern rock. Highly regarded in Japan as well as foreign countries, Shimaguchi will be performing at VAX in tandem with Kobayashi.
The local acts will also be present at VAX 2016 as Fusion Wayang Kulit will be attending the event as well. Founded with the am to revive wayang kulit by merging it with fusion elements and enhancing it with various multimedia components, Fusion Wayang Kulit will be at VAX exhibiting their wayang kulit adaptations of popular franchises such as Star Wars and DC SuperHeroes. Also confirmed for VAX 2016 is Malaysia Pro Wrestling, a homegrown pro wrestling promotion. Other activities that will also be making a return to VAX 2016 include portfolio review sessions, artist booths, special interest panels and hobby workshops.
“Based on our success last year, VAX 2016 will continue to further connect and nurture relationships between the Malaysian creative industry players with like-minded partners and collaborators from countries such as Japan, America and continental Europe. We hope VAX 2016 can be a great stepping stone for other Malaysian companies to achieve greatness and be successful on the international stage to promote the Malaysian Boleh spirit to the world,” says Fazri Nuha, Project Director for VAX.
Visual Arts Expo 2016 will be held at the STARXPO Centre in Kuala Lumpur on 3rd to 5th of June. Standard tickets for one-day access can be bought for RM 20. An early bird promotion is currently ongoing, allowing you to nab two day access for just RM 30. For those who want more than just an entry ticket, VAX 2016 will also be offering a Gold Pass that comes with premium benefits for RM 120.