Crafts, Culture, and Connection

Seni Kita partnered with the Rainforest World Music Festival for the first time, managing the arts and crafts market with a tight timeline. Despite challenges, they successfully showcased diverse vendors and interactive activities, gaining valuable feedback for future improvements.

RWMF 2024 gets creative boost with Seni Kita

The smell of the rainforest, the sounds of activities from all corners of the Sarawak Cultural Village, and the joy of finding the perfect souvenir at an arts and crafts market — all these experiences prompted us to clear our schedules for the last weekend in June and dive head-first into a world of rainforest music, cultural and artistic wonders, and handcrafted treasures.

A local arts and crafts event offers something uniquely rewarding and provides a crucial lifeline for both local and visiting artisans, adding a vibrant splash of culture to this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).

Collaborating with RWMF for the first time is Seni Kita (SK), and we asked them what interested them in this opportunity.

According to Syed Rushdie, Programme and Arts Director of the Seni Kita Arts & Crafts Market, organising their market at the RWMF 2024 was a dream come true.

Many of their team members are ardent festival-goers, having attended RWMF since the early to mid-2000s. As such, their connection with the festival is both sentimental and personal.

In 2022, HAUS KCH participated as a vendor at the arts and crafts market and had long envisioned an opportunity to be involved in the organisational aspects of RWMF. That same year, the opportunity arose when HAUS KCH was invited by the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) to bid for managing this year’s arts and crafts market.

Maclean Patrick, a performer for Wordsmith of Kuching, delivers a powerful spoken word piece against the backdrop of the waterfall at the Pesada Alam spot in the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Hayree Hashim and Patrick Tutuk lead the Sape Carving Demonstration, where festival attendees learn about the origins of the sape’, the evolution of materials used, and the carving process of the boat lute.

Shaq Koyok, a Temuan artist and activist from Selangor, entertains inquiries about his Temuan Headband Weaving Workshop, with Sabahan artist Chau Xhien’s installation in the background.

Setting up any arts and crafts market can be quite a puzzle. How did they manage under tight deadlines?

“Going in, we knew that despite our past experiences in organising art markets under Seni Kita, RWMF is a unique ball game. We are very much greenhorns compared to previous organisers. The biggest challenge for us was working with a very tight timeline for a market of this scale. We only received the appointment in May, so we had just two months to work on it — negotiating terms with STB, putting out calls for vendors, identifying programme collaborators, and promoting the market,” said Rusydie.

SK attracted vendors promoting everything from traditional crafts to contemporary art, tattoo, beauty, wellness, and a variety of creative and innovative locally made products. Vendors also came from other parts of Sarawak, as well as Penang and Kuala Lumpur, including a metalsmith who travels the world by boat!

Festival-goers take shelter at the Melanau House during a sudden rainstorm, only to find themselves joining the poco-poco dance to the tune of the unofficial Sarawak anthem, ‘Bekikis Bulu Betis’.

The Sarawak Drum Community’s Iban Taboh Demonstration drew a large crowd daily, combining traditional instruments and dance with modern storytelling and context.

A wide shot of the Seni Kita Arts & Crafts Vendors at the Melanau House, one of five locations featuring over 50 interactive booths from Sarawak, Sabah, Selangor, Penang, and beyond.

Now that the RWMF 2024 event has concluded, what is the feedback like from the participants of the arts and crafts market?

Some collaborating artists and artisans have expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the Seni Kita Arts & Crafts Market.

RWMF is, after all, a locally grown international event that never fails to attract thousands of both local and foreign visitors. The value gained from such interactions and exchanges is priceless.

“We certainly look forward to hearing about more collaborations and further opportunities that our collaborators have been able to tap into from this experience,” said Rusydie.

He added that they activated a variety of interactive programmes near vendor areas to create meaningful experiences for both vendors and visitors.

The Live Mural session, co-produced and led by Rahaf Elmahdy of Lek., is seen here finalising the outlines to be filled in later.

The Tuak-Making Demonstration & Tasting session by Sylvia Lim was a massive hit, drawing in over a hundred participants each day.

Danison Manium leads a full class of international participants on the history of the sape’ and how it is played for beginners.

These interactive activities included poetry performances, sape’ workshops, drum and film showcases, art exhibitions, tuak and dabai-related workshops and demonstrations, and more. So far, this is the largest SK event they have organised, and they were pleased to see people mingling around and patronising both the vendor booths and interactive sessions.

At the same time, they recognise there are many areas in which they can improve, such as vendor and logistics management, market layout planning, and more.

“We pulled this off with an incredibly young, small, and dedicated team under limited time and resources. This is an important milestone for HAUS KCH; however, we are constantly thinking about how things can be improved for everyone in the future,” said Rusydie.

An interactive weaving station installed by Tanoti Crafts.

Maryam Evetovics, a young Sarawakian yogini, leads a group of festival participants in a pay-as-you-please Feel Good Yoga session. In the foreground is a glimpse of her husband’s artwork, “Eyes”, on display.

Rushdie with Vicky Fong, International Delphic Council Advisor for Events & Collaboration Commission, who is also our writer.