KUCHING: The Ministry of Arts and Culture will find ways and means to help local artistes to be financially independent and rely less on government aid.
Its recent efforts included organising the Culture and Arts Entrepreneur Innovation Lab (MauS) and Seni Situ Sana Seni (4S) talk programmes, which it did here together with the National Culture and Arts Department (JKKN).
The three-day programme, which was held from July 19 until yesterday at Merdeka Palace Hotel, was attended by 90 entrepreneurs of arts and culture products as well as students majoring in the arts and culture from college and public universities in Sarawak.
National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), Sarawak director Abdul Mutalib Abdul Rahman said, “With this year’s theme focusing on Busana (literally translated as fashion), we hope the participants, especially fashion entrepreneurs, will widen their horizon and boost their confidence to penetrate the domestic and international markets,” he said when officiating at Malam Keusahawanan Seni Budaya at a hotel here last Saturday night.
The event was officiated at by the wife of Corporate Affairs Assistant Minister Abdullah Saidol, Nora Ashikin Ibrahim.
The main focus of the MauS programme was to provide exposure and entrepreneurial concepts relevant to the participants’ products as well as space for networking with the corporates, private companies and individuals.
Through a sharing session with international leading homegrown fashion designer Datuk Tom Abang Saufi, participants were given guidance and knowledge on how to explore the strength of their respective products to penetrate the international market.
The programme also highlighted local textile-based products such as Pua Kumbu, Kerengkam and Sarawak songket which have their own unique aesthetic values.
Apart from that, the programme also featured other panel speakers on establishing business with arts and culture such as actor Mahmud Ali Basha, designer Wan Bainun and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) senior lecturer in the cinematography programme Dr Abdul Riezal Dim.
