Make full use of Sibu Heritage Centre, local artists encouraged

SIBU (July 28): The artists here should make full use of the Sibu Heritage Centre to showcase their work to the public.

According to Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting, the council does not charge any artist for activities carried out at the centre.

“SMC will allow you to use it for free for any activities that you organise.

“SMC hopes that such activities could attract outsiders to come to Sibu, as every art and culture has its own appeal,” he told reporters when met during his visit to the ‘What About Kuching’ (WAK) Festival Sibu 2024 on Saturday evening.

Being staged the Sibu Heritage Centre from July 25 to 28, the inaugural WAK Festival Sibu involved more than 30 artists from various fields, coming together to showcase their work and also performances.

Adding on, Ting said the Sibu Heritage Centre, which had been ‘quiet’ for quite some time, needed to be revitalised.

“Therefore, we hope that art-based NGOs (non-governmental organisations) here would run activities more frequently at this centre.

“It is very important for us to jointly enliven Sibu with events like this.”

On WAK Festival, which was initiated in Kuching, Ting described it as ‘a unique event, a gathering of various arts and cultures that could attract lots of visitors’.

“A distinctive feature of WAK is that it is staged at historical sites and old buildings.

“That is why WAK is held here because we have places like this (Sibu Heritage Centre).”

In this regard, Ting expressed hope that the festival could be held here again here next year, on a larger and more festive scale.

“I would like to thank Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak) for the support in launching WAK Festival Sibu, a mini satellite event for arts and culture involving our central region,” he added.

Also present were WAK Festival founder Donald Tan and its director Marina Foo, as well as WAK Festival manager Brendan Chin.