GEORGE TOWN, Dec 20 — So, you live in Penang and you want to show the world that you have talent? Well, here is your chance.

George Town Festival 2014 is doing a second round of open call for submissions of ideas, proposals, performances or any suggestions to add local content to the annual festival in celebration of George Town’s inscription as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Though GTF is an annual affair, festival director Joe Sidek lamented that it is still not easy to get locals, particularly Penangites, to pitch in with their proposals and ideas.

“In our first round of submissions which ended about a month back, we received 170 proposals from all over the world but sadly, less than 10 per cent of these proposals are from Penang,” he said.

GTF started in 2010 and is a month-long festival of performances, art exhibitions, installations and various events located all over George Town in celebration of culture and arts.

Joe has been repeatedly accused by local artists of only showcasing international artists and performances but he contended that it was not because he never gave locals a chance.

“My job is to make GTF a success and I have to have a balance of very high quality international and local acts so their ideas and proposals must be of high quality and must be able to work,” he said.

Last year, GTF conducted similar open calls for proposals and held numerous auditions and yet, very few Penangites turned up to pitch their ideas while GTF was inundated with proposals from other countries.

Joe Sidek wants more locals to submit their proposals for GTF2014.

“This is George Town Festival, a festival for George Town and its people, so it is essentially your festival so please, please, please do your part and make it even more yours by submitting your proposals,” was Joe’s plea to all Penangites.

This year, GTF was made more accessible to all with street performances and ticket prices to international acts starting from only RM20 each after complaints that it was too “elitist” in previous years.

“I have made it more accessible to the public, I want to engage with the people, I want the community to get involved, I want the shopkeeper to the restaurant-owner to the resident to become a part of this festival because this is what it is all about, a showcase of local cultures and art,” he said.

Joe has other plans for GTF other than the annual festival and it is to use it to spark local creativity so that locals will produce their own line of artistic products and handicrafts instead of the usual souvenirs that are “made in China.”

“I want GTF to spark our own George Town’s line of products and souvenirs, something that we call our own and not something bought from China or Thailand and re-sold here,” he said.

This is the reason why Joe keeps bringing in international acts and artists for GTF because he wants to inspire locals with ideas from outside Malaysia.

“Performances like Sutra will serve to inspire locals so that they can come up with ideas of their own.” he said.

The Kaki Lima and Bridges street performance at George Town Festival 2013.

He said Penang has so many art and design colleges and yet not one has approached GTF with a proposal.

“Art and design students, colleges, all Penangites with any ideas, come to us, share with us your proposals even if you are unsure of how to fill in the submission form,” he said.

GTF 2014 will be held between August 1 and 31 in conjunction with Merdeka.

The second round of submissions is closing on December 23 and details of submissions can be found at georgetownfestival.com.