40 in 2024:
Help Fund Five Arts’ Future

4 Decades of Performance & Politics, Education & Experimentation

In 1984, 5 visionary artists came together to form an arts collective - with the objective to articulate complex Malaysian identities that draw from multiple influences and hybrid histories.

Focusing on Malaysian stories and experimental, interdisciplinary work, there was also a commitment to work as a collective. Dispensing with the convention of a singular artistic director, Five Arts Centre continues to grow in multiple directions - always staying open-ended and responsive to the shifting landscapes in Malaysia and beyond.

Today the collective consists of 13 members from diverse generations - we are Anne James, Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri, Ivy N. Josiah, Janet Pillai, June Tan, Kubhaer T. Jethwani, Lee Ren Xin, Mac Chan, Marion D’Cruz, Mark Teh, Ravi Navaratnam, Suhaila Merican, and Syamsul Azhar.

 

Support Our Studio & Activities in the Heart of KL

Central to Five Arts Centre’s ethos for 4 decades is creating space - for new stories, forms, and questions; for emerging and established arts and cultural workers; for new imaginations and representations of a fast-changing Malaysia.

Since 2022, Five Arts Centre has been based in the GMBB creative community mall in downtown KL.  Besides being a space where we create groundbreaking new projects and organise thought-provoking events, our new studio has quickly earned a reputation for supporting indie performing artists and filmmakers, community arts practitioners, refugee theatre groups, migrant communities, and advocacy groups - often for free, or at highly subsidised rates.

Ahead of our 40th anniversary in 2024, we are looking to raise RM160,000 and appeal to you to contribute, support and donate to to help us cover the following:

• Upgrading technical equipment in our studio space: lighting system, sound system, computers.
• Our annual office and studio rental at GMBB.
• Operational costs.

This 2-month crowdfunding campaign will run from 12 September to 12 November 2023. To help us achieve our target, we would like to give something back as a token of appreciation and thanks for your generous donation:

You can also donate to us via Sokong, Malaysiakini’s new digital fundraising platform. You can choose to support us with a one-off contribution, or provide a monthly donation - we appreciate any amount. 

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Over the past 39 years, this is some of what we have contributed to the cultural landscape:

1. Staged over 240 creative projects in Malaysia since 1984.
2. Toured performances to 30 international festivals and venues across Asia, Europe, and Australia in the past 10 years.
3. Provided over RM600,000 in seed funding to 84 artists in Malaysia since 2005 through the Krishen Jit Fund (supported by Astro Kasih & Creador Foundation).
4. Addressed gaps in the arts ecosystem by building online resources on performing arts, education and censorship, and serving as secretariat for ReformARTsi, a coalition advocating for policy change in Malaysia. 
5. Provided thought leadership in areas ranging from artistic production and regional exchange; research, education and training; freedom of expression and artists’ rights, and the relationship between arts and civil society.