Bansan: Discovering Local Market Culture

Arts-ED will be running both a board game & print-making workshop during YSDAF 2023. Arts-ED in collaboration with LUMA is releasing a second cultural heritage-inspired board game, this time about local wet markets in Malaysia, known as bansan in Northern Peninsular Malaysia Hokkien.

Bansan is not just a board game; it is an immersive experience that aims to foster a deeper connection between diverse groups of people, particularly the youth, and their local culture through the exploration of neighborhood markets. In Bansan, players are market vendors who juggle multiple roles—deal with wholesalers and customers, buy and sell ingredients, cook and serve authentic Malaysian food.

As the centre of a wide range of economic and social interactions and exchanges, a bansan reflects our everyday diversity across different ethnicities, languages, generations, social statuses, and classes. Having kept the sights, sound, touch, smell, and taste of a community’s collective memories, the local bansan is where you would find the soul of a place and catch glimpses of the local way of life.

Experience Penang’s wet market culture in a fun and interactive way by playing this board game specially designed to reflect a bustling market. After playing a game of Bansan, festival visitors will have the opportunity to delve further into their sense of place and cultural identity by trying out printmaking with market objects using the same gel print techniques as in the game art.

This hands-on activity encourages individuals to express their creativity while also promoting the use of traditional practices. Printmaking slots are limited to the second day of the festival, 20 August (Sunday), and priority is given to those who play Bansan.

Suitable for 13 years old and above. Capacity limit for each activity.

Note: Materials for board game play and printmaking will be provided. However, participants are encouraged to bring interesting items/objects they can find from wet markets to use for the printmaking.