Michael says...

THOUGHT it would have been easier if I just wrote in this blog, the actual intent of Olé Cuppa Art aka The Project Upstairs.

The Objective is to simply create a space for the appreciation of art. Sparked by the idea that art is for everyone, Olé Cafe is providing a place for the artistic community to express themselves and a place for the public to learn and appreciate art a little more.

This project gathers a group of artists (visual, performing, music and writing) where each individual will be sharing their talents guiding youths or interested parties in creating/developing their own interpretation of art. This open art studio is for the artistic community to interact & exchange ideas and for the general public to join in the fun of creating art. It's an open interactive studio for anyone and everyone to enjoy.

The target audience:
- Talented budding artist, who are looking for opportunities to further their passion. Preferably aged between 18 - 30 years of age. They must be able to commit their time and talent wholeheartedly to the program if they are selected
- All artistic beings, (professional and non professional) who are looking for a venue to meet other people with similar passion to talk, interact and share their talents and experience for the betterment of arts
- The general public, basically anyone and everyone who is keen to appreciate and know more about arts. Observers or people who are eager to participate in the activities are most welcome. They are also encouraged to paint along with the resident artist if they wish so.
- Members of the press, to help publicize this event
- Not forgetting any potential sponsors who will be willing to lend a helping hand in running this program to promote and support this passion.

Timing and duration: Nov 2006 to mid Jan 2007

The Program: As part of Olé Cuppa Art, we will be looking for at least 3 talented budding artists who are interested in pursuing a career in visual arts & keen to showcase their raw passion and talents. It will be an eye opening journey for them to learn from an established artist like Fathul. The journey will last for at least 2 months, with Fathul imparting on them the ropes of surviving as an artist. Right from the kind of art materials to purchase, to dealing with issues such as how to keep their artistic passion alive especially in this harsh environment, to staging a show for their art pieces, etc. During this period, they are required to spend at least twice a week collaborating with Fathul and to produce paintings of their own. The end output of their effort will be showcased in a proper art display at Galleriiizu early next year. Olé Cuppa Art is also a venue to help promote the work of the participating professional artists.

Other areas of arts will also be included in this program. In addition to the paintings that will be produced, the multi talented Fathul who is also a singer/songwriter, will collaborate with other very talented friends of his to produce original music scores of the Cuppa Art journey, a dance performance and a few short stories capturing the experience of this journey.

Confirmed participating talents are as follows:
Fathullah Luqman Yusoff (Visual artist)
Jidin (Amatuer Photographer)
Jerome Kugan (Singer Songwriter)



The output of this program :
- At least 40 pieces of original paintings from Fathul and his proteges will be displayed at Galleriiizu.
- A CD with tracks written & inspired by this artistic journey will be produced. Included in the CD will be a short video of the most memorable and exciting moments of this program.
- A photography exhibition (photoblogs of people who have passionately laboured for the project's success) will be held in conjunction with the art show.
- Sketches and scribbles of interesting short stories will be compiled and turned into a mini coffee table book
- And a performance will take place during the art show to bring to live the essence of the Cuppa Art project through the art of Dance.

At the end of show, selected art pieces will be put up for auction to the public. Proceeds from the sale of the art pieces & CDs and other items will be used to support a good cause with a percentage of it retained to sponsor next year's Cuppa Art project. We hope to turn this into an annual event.

Other initiative: Charity Drive
While the Open Studio is being used to facilitate the passion for arts, Olé Cafe will also use this opportunity to bring joys to orphans while raising some funds for their homes. Selected orphanages will be identified, and Ole will host these kids for an afternoon and the public can come & lend their support for a good cause, enjoy a great cup of coffee while appreciating art. The kids together with Fathul will also be painting on a huge canvass, which will later be cut into smaller pieces, framed and offered for sale to the public. All proceeds from the sale of drinks that day and subsequently the sales of the kids' paintings will go to the orphanages.2 to 3 deserving orphanages, especially the under supported ones will be identified in the coming weeks. Any enquiries and application are welcome.

Weekly forums and activities: WATCH THIS SPACE
From November, there will be weekly activities and forums organized every Saturday evening from 7pm to 9pm. The list of activities will be published once the group moderators have confirmed their participation. It will cover discussions on visual art, dance, short films (shows will be organized weekly), poetry reading, music (a jamming session or two is definitely happening!), etc... There will be art jamming sessions too! It's guaranteed to be fun, artistic and therapeutic! During these sessions, you will be guided to express yourself on a blank canvass to come up with your own masterpiece! So it's definitely very exciting!

After the Raya break, a CD with 5 original tracks especially composed for Olé Cuppa Art project together with 2 Olé Coffee vouchers worth RM 50 will be distributed around. Any contribution is welcomed to help support this very passionate cause. We hope to raise some funds to help kick start the program by appealling to the public's generousity. A media night is also planned in November to officially launch the program. Here's to brewing the passion for arts! Olé Cuppa Art.