KUCHING, April 5: Miri is gearing up to host the MYY Living Arts UnConference and Festival 2024, a celebration of Borneo’s rich cultural heritage.
The festival will take place on May 13 to May 19, promising a week-long immersion in diverse artistic disciplines with the artists and creatives from Sabah, Brunei, Kalimantan, and Sarawak uniting to draw attention to Borneo’s narrative in the point of view of its locals.
According to the press release, the executive producer of MYY Living Arts, Juvita Tatan Wan aims to provide an unconventional presentation and rich experiences for attendees while also hoping to draw visitors from other creative sectors, especially from the region of West Malaysia.
Juvita highlights the extractive and non-collaborative approach of advertising agencies from Kuala Lumpur and advocates for a year-round engagement with Borneo’s culture while emphasizing the importance of inclusive collaboration.
“Take the time to listen to some of our aspirations and include us (Borneo), collaborate with us in the developmental aspect of a work or campaign. That way, at least they can truly say it is inclusive and properly represented,” said Juvita.
The festival will be offering attendees with unique experiences, featuring artists from the Borneo territories showcasing their work in nontraditional settings.
There will also be open mic sessions, theatre staging, poetry and book readings, film screenings and more activities that will showcase the diversity of artistic disciplines by the region’s artists.
Entrance to most activities is free, though some will require tickets.
For a detailed programming schedule on MYY Living Arts UnConference Festival 2024, visit myylivingarts.com.
MYY Living Arts (or fondly known as MYYLA, pronounced “Mai-lah”) is an artist-led platform started by community-led arts management company, The Tuyang Initiative in 2021. —DayakDaily
