KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Penang’s commitment to the freedom of expression has allowed for the flourishing of its art scene as embodied in the George Town Festival (GTF), the state’s chief minister said today.

Lim Guan Eng said that despite criticisms against the arts festival, now in its 6th year, it has continued to grow thanks to the freedom the organisers and performers have to fully explore their art.

“We believe in freedom, we believe freedom can push Penang’s progress forward and that is what I promised and guaranteed Joe… when you come and perform in Penang, you can be sure that there will be no interference,” he said, referring to festival director Joe Sidek who was also present at the press conference.

“He (Sidek) was hammered, I was hammered but we kept at it basically telling them that we believe in artistic freedom and you have the freedom to criticise us also, and I think, true enough, that freedom has actually encouraged many acts and many performances from all over the world to come and perform in George Town,” he added.

Lim was referring to some criticisms against the state and festival about the choice of acts, etc.

GTF is a month-long event that brings together all forms of local and international acts, including plays, dances, art exhibitions and recitals, all over Penang’s city centre in an attempt to make the arts more accessible to the masses.

Lim, who has championed the festival since its inception in 2010, added that Penang as a state encourages freedom, adding that any form of art will not be banned even if it is deemed offensive.

“You can draw anything in Penang, you can even draw something nasty about the chief minister and we won’t punish you for that,

“Other places when you draw something they’ll not only whitewash it but also summon you, but not in Penang. That helps us stand apart, and also helps art and culture to flourish,” he said.

The George Town Festival will run throughout the month of August with performances from across the globe including Spain, Poland and Iran, on top of a weekend-long event on mainland Penang called the Butterworth Fringe Festival.

Some of the performances lined up include Spanish dance troupe Titanium which will showcase a medley of flamenco and hip hop dance, a one-woman play by Polish artist Anna Skubik, experimental Iranian theatre performance titled Slow Sound of Snow and an award-winning performance from an Australian performance group titled Am I.