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By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Aug 15: Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Minister of Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is urging more private sector sponsors to invest in the month-long ‘What About Kuching’ (WAK) festival to ensure its success and make WAK a permanent feature on the Sarawak tourism calendar.
He also emphasised that private sector sponsors not only ensure WAK’s success, but also contribute to the growth and prosperity of the creative community, as well as the creation of a platform in which everyone can take pride in for many years to come.
“Private sector sponsors hold the key to making WAK’s month-long extravaganza a resounding success.
“Here, I wish to make a heartfelt plea for more to come aboard to support this fabulous homegrown festival that aspires to the loftiest world standards.
“To truly achieve this success and make WAK a sustained feature in our calendar, WAK needs more partners to come aboard to share in the financial investments to ensure the festival and our creative community truly thrive and that this platform becomes one that we can all be proud of in the future,” he said in his official address prior to the launch of the ‘WAK 2023 Festival’s Call-for-Proposals (CFP)’ held today at Baitul Makmur II, Petra Jaya here.
As WAK gears up for its 5th edition this year, the organisers are putting out a call to all artists, creators, performers, and innovators to join hands in crafting an unforgettable cultural extravaganza.
With a reputation for celebrating diversity, nurturing artistic expression, and fostering community engagement, WAK invites collaborators to submit their visionary proposals and be a part of shaping the heartbeat of Kuching’s creative scene.
According to WAK festival director Donald Tan, this year’s edition will welcome collaborators from nearby nations including Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, as well as from West Malaysia and Sabah.
“By attracting creatives from outside of Sarawak to share their talents, local creative standards can be elevated.
“WAK is an umbrella festival for community-driven arts, culture, and lifestyle events. So, we don’t pick and choose genres when it comes to events as we are an open-access festival,” he said.
Tan also mentioned that the number of events and collaborators was overwhelming last year, but they expect slightly less this year because collaborators only have 14 days to submit proposals.
“If we can have a repeat number as last year, that would be excellent,” he added.
Those who wish to submit proposals can do so at www.aboutkuching.com. The deadline is on Aug 30.
WAK is set to take place from October 1 to October 31 this year.
Also present at the launch were MTCP Sarawak deputy ministers Datuk Snowdan Lawan and Datuk Sebastian Ting as well as MTCP permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini. — DayakDaily
