Rimbun Dahan

26/07/2026

It's a beautiful cool day at Rimbun Dahan for Open Day! Rain is forecast for the afternoon, but Open Day activities will continue, rain or shine.

For more info about Rimbun Dahan Open Day on Sunday 26 July, see: https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026

25/07/2026

Raising awareness of the rising tide of textile waste in Southeast Asia, the Waste to Weft project is showing the new documentary 'Menolak Punah' tomorrow at Open Day.

A compelling documentary by filmmakers Dandhy Laksono and Aji Yahuti, 'Menolak Punah' exposes the dark side of the fast fashion industry and its devastating environmental toll, while highlighting the inspiring movement to revive Indonesia's sustainable textile heritage.

Viewing Times: 11am - 12pm, 3pm - 4pm
Sunday 26 July
The Dance Studio
Open Day at Rimbun Dahan has FREE ENTRY

For more info about Open Day, see https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026/

25/07/2026

Waste to Weft 3.0 is wrapping up their five-month residency at Rimbun Dahan with a showcase of their works for Open Day tomorrow!

Take a look at several handwoven works that were completed for the Waste to Weft program. Learn how the program's participating artists from across Southeast Asia incorporated textile waste and natural dyes as material, alongside weaving and ikat techniques within their practice.

11am-6pm
Sunday 26 July 2026
Rimbun Dahan
Entry is free

Waste to Weft is a project by .lab, supported by .

More info about Open Day: https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026/

21/07/2026

Immerse yourself in art this Sunday, in a garden of tropical greenery just 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur.

On Sunday 26 July, private arts centre Rimbun Dahan will be open to the public. From 11am to 6pm, come meet our current resident artists from Malaysia, the Philippines and Myanmar, and learn about their artistic practice in their studios.

A morning garden tour will share the secrets of rewilding the native garden, from 9am to 11am.

Make it a family outing! Bring your own picnic to enjoy in the garden, explore our 120-year old heritage house, and the underground gallery. Plus, watch a documentary film about textile waste, and see hand-made weavings from upcycled materials by the Waste to Weft project.

Free entry, outdoor parking available on site. Registration required for garden tour only.

More info, see:

Rimbun Dahan Open Day July 2026 admin Open Day 14 July 202621 July 2026 On Sunday 26 July 2026, our current resident artists will be sharing the results of their residencies with the public. Visual artists Brisa Amir (Philippines) and Khin May Moe (Myanmar), with recent resident artist Anas Afandi (...

21/07/2026

Malaysian visual artist Anas Afandi has used his 2-month residency at Rimbun Dahan in 2026 as a period of research and experimentation, cultivating a daily practice of collecting fallen kemboja flowers and experimenting with collecting and documentation methods from botanical and archaeological practices, while thinking about cultural memory and meaning.

Anas Afandi (b. 1991) works across drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation. His practice examines the relationship between the natural world, history, and cultural identity. Through research-driven projects and speculative methodologies, he often constructs pseudo-worlds that question how institutions shape his surroundings. In recent years, Anas’ work has expanded toward environmental politics, colonial legacies, and the construction of cultural narratives, positioning the environment not only as a subject of representation but as a method of inquiry.

"I am interested in the kemboja; a naturalised, non-native species that holds deep personal significance for me. It became the entry point for this research. Its continued presence in Taman Sari exposes a tension between botanical classification and its cultural significance. Even though it has been part of the garden for almost forty years, it will not be replanted once it dies, keeping with the garden's commitment in preserving species native to Southeast Asia.

"Hence, the anticipated disappearance of the tree one day raises questions beyond botany that shape this project; (1) what happens when something culturally meaningful no longer fits within systems of preservation and (2) how do we preserve forms of attachment and meaning that extend beyond physical material?"

Come visit Rimbun Dahan for Open Day this Sunday 26 July, when Anas will share the outcomes of his residency.

More info about Open Day: https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026/

More about Anas' residency: https://rimbundahan.org/anas-afandi/

18/07/2026

Khin May Moe, a visual artist from Yangon, Myanmar, has been in residence at Rimbun Dahan for two months in 2026. Her work with watercolour and ink has expanded from urban sketching to plumbing the depths of her insomnia, expressed through mysterious creature-like forms.

May graduated with a Bachelor's degree in German from Mandalay University of Foreign Languages (MUFL) and worked as a German-speaking tour guide from 2018 to 2020. Having loved drawing since childhood, she began studying academic painting in 2019 and later graduated with a Diploma in Painting from the National University of Arts and Culture, Yangon (NUAC). Since then, she has been actively creating artworks and participating in group exhibitions in Myanmar.

In 2024, she received an artistic residency scholarship through the EMPM programme and spent six months as a resident artist in Saint-Nazaire, France.

"During the residency at Rimbun Dahan, I faced my long-term problem of insomnia. Being awake at night gave me time to think about my emotions and inner thoughts. I wanted to connect this experience with my artwork. Through these paintings, I explore different aspects of mental health, emotions, sensitivity, and the expressions that come from my deep subconscious during sleepless nights.

"The objects embedded in the paintings are like illustrations that can be imagined by the viewer’s eyes, with faces, figures, and intestine-like forms appearing in random patterns. I try to draw intricate patterns by combining ambiguous shapes, different leaf shapes, creatures, and animal parts that I found in my surroundings.

"Inspired by nature, leaf shapes, animals, and my daily observations in the garden, I began creating experimental watercolor paintings with intricate, floating forms. I want to build a living visual world that reflects my own inner experiences.“

Come visit May's open studio at Rimbun Dahan Open Day on Sunday 26 July.

More info about May's residency at Rimbun Dahan: https://rimbundahan.org/khin-may-moe/

More info about Open Day: https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026/

17/07/2026

Visual artist Brisa Amir from the Philippines has been in residence at Rimbun Dahan for two months in 2026, working with the garden's flora and handmade ink as her primary material to explore the displacement of nature in urban settings.

A BFA Painting graduate from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Brisa held her first solo exhibition at Artinformal in 2018, followed by a solo presentation at S.E.A. Focus in Singapore (2019), a feature in Artforum, and a cover feature in Vogue Philippines (2023). She received the Ateneo Art Awards Embassy of Italy Purchase Prize in 2021. Her work features tactile, collage-based paintings rooted in paper’s fragility and resistance.

Come visit Brisa's open studio on Sunday 26 July at the Rimbun Dahan Open Day!
More info about Open Day: https://rimbundahan.org/rimbun-dahan-open-day-july-2026/
More about Brisa and her residency: https://rimbundahan.org/brisa-amir/