(Front row) Abdul Karim (third left) Ting, Hii, Sharzede (fifth right) give the thumbs-up during a group photocall, while Heidi (second left), Tan (second row, second left) and others look on.
KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture wants to create greater opportunities for local artisans to be successful in their career paths.
Its minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said there are about 1,500 individuals, including bead makers, in Sarawak who occasionally make handicrafts for sale.
“Most of them are only able to supplement their agrarian profession with their creations, while only a handful are actively deriving a decent income from the pursuit professionally.
“These professionals work hard, are committed, and they understand the business eco-system and are always looking to further develop their skills and craftsmanship,” he said when officiating at What About Kuching (WAK) 2019 and the 6th Borneo International Beads Conference (BIBCo) at the Old Courthouse here yesterday.
He thus said the ministry wanted to commence charting the way forward by emphasising on product-focused training, product development and branding.
“Although handicraft agencies like Sarawak Crafts Council and Kraftangan Malaysia are already active in terms of product-focused training, there is still room to improve.
“For instance, events like BIBCo bring a wealth of new skills and ideas into the beading scene, a great platform for skill and knowledge transfer and exchange while also allowing our local crafts persons themselves to expose themselves to even greater creativity by networking with international designers and master crafts persons.”
He also hoped that through the congregation of creative minds at BIBCo, this would in turn develop a unique Sarawak brand.
“This is how we will carve out a place in the market. After all, we have the tradition, skills and committed crafts persons.
“Given a better platform, they will do extremely well in the future and my ministry will continue to facilitate this to our best abilities,” he said.
On WAK 2019, Abdul Karim said the event, which celebrates arts, culture and lifestyle, would place Kuching as the destination of choice for festival-goers every October.
“This year’s event is jam-packed with programmes comprising 56 collaborating groups, 99 different events and 315 daily events over 30 days.
“This is a great boon to our tourism industry, and an ideal big platform for our creative communities to shine.”
He expressed his confidence that WAK will be able to gain even greater momentum in the years to come, in its aim to become the top regional platform for arts, culture and lifestyle, akin to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting, the ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor, WAK festival director Donald Tan and BIBCo director Heidi Munan were among those at the function.