Five Arts Centre
Ensuring Sustainability in Malaysian Performing Arts
The Malaysian performing arts scene has grown through the years, but it is still far from being sustainable. Many art practitioners have no clear career trajectory and must rely on gig-work due to limited opportunities for full-time employment. These vulnerabilities were made especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five Arts Centre (FAC) is one of the few independent organisations striving to change this narrative. Comprising a collective of artists, activists, and producers, it provides a platform where art practitioners can collaborate, create, and experiment, whilst propagating Malaysian arts and culture through education and advocacy.
2023 - Malam Takdir performance at Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre
Lee Ren Xin and Tan Bee Hung in the ANGGOTA 2 Re-Member dance performance at Five Arts Centre studio, GMBB
YSD has long supported FAC’s initiatives, having committed more than RM1.1 million to ensure the continued growth and sustainability of Malaysia’s performing arts sector. Previous sponsorships enabled FAC to host 72 performances and 10 conferences, publish two books on Malaysian performing arts, and establish two online archives documenting the nation’s performing arts history.
The performing arts are often overlooked, but they play a critical role in social and cultural commentary and offer unique perspectives that drive societal progress–a cause YSD fully believes is important for nation-building. Thus, Phase 5 of YSD’s collaboration with FAC, aptly called the RE-NEW programme, aims to bring about transformative change by addressing critical gaps such as arts advocacy at the policy level, improving job security for artists, effective documentation and archiving, and continual innovation in artmaking.
The cast and crew of the Notional History show together with a special audience from the deaf and hearing-impaired communities, at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
2 arts managers
employed for Phase 5
42 local artists
attracted 1,545 audiences
2 Arts Stakeholders
meetings consisting of producers, funders, government representatives, and practitioners from various organisations
FAC won 6 awards at the 19th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards for ‘ANGGOTA 2’ (Dance category) and Opera Malam Takdir (Theatre category)
Marion D’Cruz in ItSelf TerJadi, at Five Arts Centre studio
