#shapeyourcity Spark Conversations with Heineken

Debuting in Penang at the reclaimed Hin Bus Depot, now an art centre, Heineken Shape Your City had one simple goal; to transform the urban milieu via simple actions, actions that would spark conversations. This was accomplished via the two interactive art installations initially showcased at their Penang edition, which had punters scampering to tinker with them, and continued on last Friday 26 August ’16 at Plaza Batai, Kuala Lumpur – with the addition of renowned architect-artist Jun Ong’s Palletpixels to boot.

Kuala Lumpur’s Shape Your City pop-up bar, neatly tucked into an alleyway of Plaza Batai, was in itself something of an art piece. While Hin Bus Depot was already appropriated into an Art Centre, this stretch of alleyway was by no means a piece of urbanity that had been adopted as something more than what it was. Here, the Shape Your City philosophy was palpable; a diverse group of KLites – some at their most fashionable, and some professional, still dressed in their work attire – mingled regardless whether they knew one another beforehand, or even belonged in the same social circles. Even the banging tunes spun by the likes of LapSap, Goldfish, Hulkas, and WH didn’t deter the social interaction spurred here – though don’t get us wrong, the dancefloor was still as lit as any Heineken party when needed be.

Delve deeper into the nook of a stretch, punters, with cold Heineken bottles in hand, were even more visibly stimulated socially. With their tactile interactivity, TheManCalledUncle’s rotatable mirrors, Koleidoscape, and Biji-Biji Initiative’s Heineken bottle-abled macro synthesisers, Synth City Table, were big hits, obviously, as they were at the Penang edition of Shape Your City. However, the inclusion of Jun Ong and his design collective POW Ideas’ Palletpixels was inspired; acting as two contrasting furniture, one black and the other white (and basked in bright lights), the yin and yang seats were a social hotspot, ostensibly attracting folks as contrasting as the installations themselves – the Shape Your City ethos of breaking social habits made reality.

Hitting about 600 pax throughout the night, the KL edition of Shape Your City did exactly what the campaign advocated – conversations were had, urban landscapes redefined, connections made, and social norms stirred and deconstructed by some of Malaysia’s most interesting artists; the things that shape your city.