THE Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) celebrated its 4th anniversary yesterday. To illustrate Cendana’s role in supporting Malaysian artists and cultural workers, Cendana engaged one of its beneficiaries “an artist who paints without a paintbrush.”
Sabahan artist Red Hong Yi spent twelve weeks creating Tanah a three piece art installation. She and her 10 person team, which involved four of Cendana’s apprentices attached to Studio Hong Yi constructed the first art piece for Cendana’s ‘4 Years Retrospective’ made out of an estimated 7kg of different types and colours of soil and sand from Peninsular and East Malaysia, tree barks and stones; and sealed with resin.
The artpiece is a result of 10 months of research and interviewing war veterans including Major Andrew Teoh Hoot Aun, Leftenan Kolonel Linus Lunsong Janti, Major Patrick Wong Sing Nang and Kapten Panirchellvum Velaitham.
Red Hong Yi said, “I’m so honoured to have met Malaysian war veterans who have fought for our country, and to be able to tell their story through art is truly meaningful and special. One of the veterans told me that he would like to share this message to our generation: that what we have today was fought for by someone before us. I would also like to give special thanks to our fabricator, Chuah Chong Yong of Huak Huak, for assisting us in installing the artworks.”
_Red_Hong_Yi_and_her_apprentices_with_the_Tanah_a....jpg)
The art piece depicted a scene that was shot in the 1960s outlining a 12-man unit from the Malaysian Armed Forces telling a story on sacrifices of many unsung heroes for Malaysia’s freedom, honour, and security. It also reminds us of how many wives have been the unsung heroes throughout their lives, and willing to marry army men who would probably never return home.
Cendana salutes war veterans who fought for our country and honour and today, Cendana also celebrates artists and cultural workers who tell our stories to all.
Since its inception in September 2017, Cendana strives to implement, deliver and support various programmes and initiatives specially designed to contribute to the growth and development of Malaysia’s arts and culture sector. Among the programmes and initiatives initiated and driven by Cendana included Art in the City, Panggung Rakyat, Arts Education Scheme, Academy of Cultural Economy, as well as various forms of funding programmes for practitioners in the performing arts, independent music, visual arts, and crafts.
The 4th Anniversary, themed ‘4 Years Retrospective’ is in line with Cendana’s role to further drive Malaysia's arts and culture economy and strive to make Malaysia a recognised hub for its great arts and artists. The thrust of this theme emphasizes the importance of ensuring continuous visibility of the Malaysian arts and culture scene and engaging with the public to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of Malaysian arts and culture.
In the last four years, Cendana had entered into various collaborative efforts with Malaysian artists and cultural workers as well as public and private partners. These collaborations were key in facilitating various programmes that include professionalising artists and arts organisations, creating opportunities to build a new audience base as well as developing direct relations with various artists, cultural workers, and stakeholders nationwide. These collaborations included joint efforts with Yayasan Sime Darby, Think City, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, Pusaka and Musicians for Musicians Malaysia to BeKraf Indonesia, Adelaide Festival Trust Centre, New Delhi TV, and the Indian Ocean Craft Triennale amongst others.
Cendana had also developed various funding programmes, which form a yearly ‘arts-friendly funding mechanism for practitioners including, individual artists, collectives, and organisations. Such funding efforts have been crucial to supporting development, experimentation, and trials relating to arts and culture activities and businesses.
These efforts include exposure to the necessary ‘networks’, development of artists and cultural workers, aimed at ensuring sustainability for the target audience. These programmes had benefitted 1,000 artists and cultural workers, creating work opportunities for more than 14,000 Malaysians, upskilled 13,000 practitioners since its inception in 2017. In the last 12 months, Cendana has approved RM19 million under Penjana, Prisma, and Budget 2021 initiatives to create work opportunities for more than 6,000 Malaysians.
The Secretary-General of Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, Datuk Seri Haji Mohammad bin Mentek, who was the guest-of-honor, commented, “Congratulations to Cendana on all your work in supporting the development of the arts and culture sector. I invite the communities to move forward together and bring Malaysia’s arts and culture sector to greater heights.”
According to Chairman of MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd, En Noor Azmi, “As we look ahead to our next five-year strategy for the MyCreative Ventures Group, we look forward to strengthening and expanding Cendana’s development work across other creative sectors in stages. We are proud to see Cendana grow from strength to strength as they continue to have a deep understanding of the important role arts and culture plays in Malaysia.”
At the event, Cendana’s Founding CEO Ms Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin said, “Arts and culture is the thread that joins us Malaysians of all backgrounds together. Thank you to our unsung heroes in the army and arts for doing what you do and making Malaysia proud. Together with the Cendana team, I look forward to continuing serving the arts communities and strengthening the arts and culture economy for the benefit of all Malaysians.”
The celebration of Cendana's 4th Anniversary was organised online over Cendana’s Facebook platform yesterday. Viewers were also entertained by Malaysia’s top performers from Cendana’s beneficiaries alumni including Hands Percussion (who had also performed at Cendana’s initial launch back in September 2017), Kwang Tung Dance Company, Myo, and The Impatient Sisters. – The Vibes, September 7, 2021
