Demoralised arts industry needs urgent, dynamic solutions to keep afloat

A view of KLPac's main theatre space. For performing arts and theatre venues, they will have to remain closed until Phase 4 of the National Recover Plan with the possibility of recording only in Phase 3. Photo: KLPac

With arts venues placed under total lockdown, that also has meant no digital theatre recordings or in-house virtual productions can be done . That's an alternative source of income denied to the arts community, now facing overwhelming obstacles to restart work even on a small scale, with strict SOPs observed.

Here's a list of urgent issues that should be at the top of the Tourism, Arts and Culture minister's in-tray:This is key if it’s a pre-requisite for the arts industry to reopen. The Public-Private Partnership Industrial Covid-19 Immunisation Programme that expedited vaccination for workers since June serves as a great case study.

And one of the criteria for the application is that the production crew needs to be fully vaccinated. So, having a fully vaccinated production team would help in the SPP application.Theatres and performing arts venues have been unable to balance their books since the start of the MCO last year. And it doesn't look like any of them will be reopening to full capacity shows any time soon.

The Government - with the Tourism, Arts and Culture minister's lobbying - can step in with new long-term measures to help these arts spaces from going under.There needs to be an equity, not equality, based approach when it comes to grants by the Government through Cendana. Current Cendana regulations state that a group/organisation/collective can only have one active grant at any given time.

The days of big budget spectacles and international festival headliners will eventually return when the pandemic situation gets better. That said, the days of deadwood arts festivals, funded by the Government, should be a thing of the past. It's also the right time to consider a change of mindset by looking at homegrown arts and community outreach to shape a different kind of festival culture in Malaysia considering the lean period ahead.

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