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After a five-year hiatus, the Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival (YSDAF), Malaysia’s largest free-for-all arts festival, has returned. YSDAF 2023 themed “Shout it Out: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow,” kicked off in February and ends with the festival finale on 19th and 20th August 2023.
The biennial festival, presented by Yayasan Sime Darby and The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), has attracted 50,000 festivalgoers and created 2,600 job opportunities for artists and arts workers since its inception in 2014.
YSDAF’s fourth edition is unique since it is a comeback edition. After YSDAF 2018, preparations for the following edition started right away, however the pandemic prompted a postponement of the festival’s anticipated premiere in February 2020. YSDAF 2023 will fill the void this year by making a stronger than ever comeback.
Arts for all
YSDAF 2023 is an invitation to ‘Shout It Out’ on issues close to our hearts, whether they are related to the arts, community, health, education, or the environment, and stake a claim in our collective future. The festival will bring back everything that has made it so popular while also expanding its reach to more diverse communities and issues.
As Malaysia’s only festival to have its crew undergo Disability Equality Training (DET) and Disability Related Services Training (DRST), YSDAF continues to build on its previous efforts on diversity and inclusivity in keeping with the ‘arts for all’ spirit.
“Yayasan Sime Darby is excited to welcome the return of the YSD Arts Festival after a long COVID hiatus. Aside from celebrating the arts, this festival was and will continue to be a great representation and platform for inclusivity and diversity of our society via our local art scene, highlighting the various important causes that Yayasan Sime Darby supports under our 5 pillars. We look forward to unveiling meaningful exhibitions, performances, and showcases that will reach a wider audience through easy accessibility, and greater collaboration of the arts industry.” Yayasan Sime Darby Chairman Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Imran Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar said.
For Malaysian by Malaysian
YSDAF 2023 features an all-Malaysian contingent, from fresh young talents working alongside experienced personalities to young producers trained by seasoned producers. The festival aims to heal Malaysia’s arts industry from the talent-drain crisis we are facing by lifting each other up.
Dato’ Faridah Merican, Executive Producer & Co-Founder of klpac, stated that this year’s festival promises to be a wonderful celebration for everyone in the Malaysian family.
“We have almost 350 showcases and activities planned in 19 pocket locations around klpac. It involves approximately 1,000 artistes and crew and is expected to attract at least 18,000 festival goers.
Nowhere else will you be able to sample such a wide variety of what the local arts scene can offer from the traditional to the contemporary, dance to theatre, mainstream to the experimental. The festival also includes hands-on workshops, demonstrations, installations, screenings and more, spread over 48 hours,” she added.
Pitch Start
YSDAF 2023 will kick off six months of activities with an open call for project ideas via Pitch Start. Pitch Start is a platform where artists and art groups can submit their creative and original ideas in any language or genre for a chance to win a grant of up to RM20,000 and have their work premiered at the festival finale.
In keeping with the festival theme, the third edition of Pitch Start is looking for innovative ideas for a curated interactive mixed media experience on Yesterday, Today, or Tomorrow from a Malaysian perspective. The open call begins in March, and the deadline for submitting proposals is April 30th, 2023. Guidelines and application forms are available on the website www.ysdartsfestival.com.my.
Other highlights in the months ahead include open auditions for the festival’s Gala Night, a performing arts training programme for the disabled, a Radiohead tribute, and more.
Jimmy Tan
