MUZIUM & GALERI TUANKU FAUZIAH (MGTF) began approximately 50 years ago after Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) introduced the Fine Arts programme, a pioneering move among Malaysia’s higher education institutions. Since then, USM has been acquiring artefacts and various works of art.

The museum and art gallery officially opened in 1982 but was formally inaugurated as MGTF in 2007. It is known to many as a university museum. However, since 2021, MGTF’s curatorial team has been curating engaging experiential visits to promote the paradigmatic shifts advocated by the director, Hasnul Jamal Saidon. Striving to reinterpret the museum’s role beyond a venue/space, the team recently experimented with co-curation, embracing collaborative efforts.

A Dynamic Museum Visit

PerspeXtif, a two-month exhibition showcased at MGTF from March 18 to May 25 this year, explored a collab - orative curatorial approach under the leadership of Tetriana Ahmed Fauzi from USM’s School of the Arts (SOTA) and Afzanizam Mohd Ali (MGTF’s curator). The exhibition featured 16 selected pieces from MGTF’s permanent collection, including paintings, drawings, print art, photo collages, digital prints, mixed media and ethnographic objects.

These were displayed alongside individual or group interpretations presented in various forms and formats by 36 invited co-curators, primarily art and design lecturers and their supporting crew of different disciplines from several public universities. These interpretations ranged from sculptures, installation art, drawings, photography and animation to documentary videos, wall and framed displays. Some incorporated interactive elements to encourage visitor co-creation.

“This is the first experiment. Usually displayed as static objects with fixed meanings and presentations, these museum collections are now being re-examined, revived and re-presented in new forms,” explained Hasnul, the advisor to the curatorship.

Hasnul pointed out that diverse curatorial approaches were applied, including re-reading the featured pieces from a perspective of personal experience and reinterpreting the original pieces as intertextual sources. Some looked at techniques, elements and design principles, while others interpreted historical and factual events.

“The themes revolve around socio-economic circumstances, human relationships, heritage and culture, information explosion, free-market capitalism and globalisation of local cultures and landscapes, feminism, emotional values and well-being,” Hasnul said.

Exhibition Outreach and Visitor Engagement

The outreach and reception of PerspeXtif was impressive, actively engaging visitors—including students and educators from schools, colleges and universities within and beyond Penang—in a deeper appreciation of the museum’s collection, prompting them to contemplate the narratives of the original pieces further.

Participating as a co-curator, Liew Ting Chuang from Saito University College views this exhibition as a meaningful platform for his students, particularly in enhancing their understanding of the art history module. “I brought them to visit PerspeXtif not only to learn from MGTF’s collected works and the new interpretations but also to expose them to the co-curatorial approach, to witness the possibilities of collaboration.”

“Besides highlighting the museum’s permanent collection, which has long been preserved and stored, PerspeXtif offers co-curators the opportunity to research and develop new creations or narratives inspired by the original works and further inquiries based on the art, and, at the same time, pushes artistic boundaries by integrating new and contemporary ideas and technologies,” shared Ishak Ramli, who travelled from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM Perak) for the exhibition.

Echoing Ishak’s opinion, Safrizal Shahir (SOTA USM) added that “it is a valuable exercise for practitioners, and adds on new values and dimensions to the original work.”

Impressed by the exhibition’s reception, Zaimie Sahibil from University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) adopted a similar approach to guide his final-year students in co-curating their final-year showcase at UMS. “It offers a new platform to deepen our understanding of the museum’s collection through an active and participatory learning process.”

Azizan Paiman from UiTM Perak shared that allowing visitors to touch the artefacts on display enabled a “direct and close connection” with the precious objects, “bridging our usual distance with the museum’s exhibits and fostering a more intimate experience”.

Further Improvements

Group review discussions have identified several areas for improvement to enhance the curatorial process. The team plans to refine the spatial arrangement and on-site settings to create a more cohesive and effective presentation of the diverse narratives throughout the co-curated exhibition.

“It would be beneficial to include art dialogues or conversations during the exhibition to enrich the presented narratives,” suggested the Dean of SOTA, Sarena Abdullah. She also added that it is “crucial to document this curatorial project for our local art archive to support future reference and research”.

Safrizal emphasised the importance of a well-strategised pedagogical approach to effectively disseminate benefits to various targeted groups of visitors across different levels.

According to Tetriana, MGTF’s core curatorial team plans to expand PerspeXtif to other platforms in Penang and KL.