AFTER a three-year hiatus, the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards will return in May to honour the finest of Malaysian performing arts that took place from 2020 to 2022. The 18th awards ceremony will be the capstone of exhibits assessed over the last three years, during which the arts sector had to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around 100 projects have been submitted to the awards board for consideration by a panel of judges. The awards presentation will recognise people who have excelled in acting, singing, and dance. It will also recognise the staff that work behind the scenes to bring shows to life, such as wardrobe and makeup, music and sound, visual and set design, and lighting design.
Boh Plantations chief executive officer Jason Foo said, “suffice to say, the last few years were a period of testing for each of us but that same difficult journey has shaped our tenacity as an industry.
“It’s great to see the arts industry re-invent itself, rise to conquer the challenges of the past and concertedly move ahead to shape the exciting future.”
In 2020, the 17th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards was held online for the first time, celebrating the productions in 2019 and acknowledging the best shows for the year.
Boh Plantations also assisted 15 production companies who were past winners with a contribution of RM10,000 each. The organisations were picked based on their ongoing contributions to the industry and whose operations were halted due to the movement restrictions implemented during the pandemic.
In 2022, RM200,000 worth of Boh Cameronian grants for new productions were awarded to 20 performing arts companies to help defray the production cost in a bid to reboot the arts sector.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the performing arts community in Malaysia. The president of Kakiseni, Low Ngai Yuen, spoke about the challenges that the national performing arts community is facing, and how many were struggling to revive art activities.
"During the pandemic, there were absolutely no work that performing arts practitioners could do, especially since this field does not have a financial savings scheme such as the Employment Savings Fund (EPF) or Socso. They have nowhere to rely on. So, when the situation dragged on, many started changing jobs to make ends meet," said Low.
The lack of financial support has led many artists to switch careers that offer a better financial safety net, and they are still struggling to return to the world of art even after two years. This has resulted in a lack of manpower, and many artists are choosing to perform solo shows due to limited resources and budget. The quality of performances has also been affected due to these factors.
“Boh Cameronian Grants for New Productions helped to kick-start things again.
“Some of these shows have even made it to the nominations list, so it is indeed a joyous occasion for us to host the 18th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards and announce the nominees.”
To support performing arts activities in Malaysia, the BOH Cameronian Art Awards (BCAA) has returned this year with the theme 'A New Day, Setia Pada Senimu' to call on all artists to rise again and return with a new spirit. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 14 at PJPAC, 1 Utama. – The Vibes, April 6, 2023
* this story originally appeared in our Malay-language sister portal Getaran
