With great focus and intention, we maintained our commitment to revitalising Malaysia’s art scene, fostering platforms to help spur the creative economy.
In 2023, over 250,000 individuals had the opportunity to immerse themselves in Malaysia’s rich arts, heritage, and culture through various events supported by Arts for All Seasons (ArtsFAS) by Yayasan Hasanah in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
Meanwhile, in our dedication to conserving heritage textiles as a viable economic product, the inaugural Hasanah Gold Threads Awards (HGTA) was launched in 2023, showcasing intricate and breathtaking submissions from heritage textile artisans across Malaysia.
Most importantly, as we uphold our role in arts, culture, and heritage preservation, we also witnessed a promising involvement of youth in ensuring that our legacy is not only preserved but also practised. This serves as a beacon of hope for the continued flourishing of Malaysia’s heritage art forms – a piece of our shared identity.
Meanwhile in Public Spaces, Yayasan Hasanah continued to fund and develop the Cruyff Court series in Malaysia, providing safe, and accessible play spaces for youth and individuals with disabilities to thrive and compete in a healthy environment. Its newly built Cruyff Court FELDA Trolak Selatan, Perak becomes the 8th court built nationwide, joining seven other active courts across Malaysia—one in Johor, Pahang, Kedah, and Kelantan each, and three in low-income urban areas of Kuala Lumpur.
Arts for All Seasons (ArtsFAS) is an annual grant programme powered by Yayasan Hasanah in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, dedicated to preserve Malaysia’s diverse arts, heritage, and culture (AHC). ArtsFAS has enabled significant employment opportunities for local AHC practitioners in the programmes it supports, thus catalysing the growth of the nation’s creative economy. Today, ArtsFAS stands as the largest annual grant programme for arts, culture, and heritage in Malaysia.
In its larger mission to preserve Malaysian heritage textile traditions, the Hasanah Gold Threads Awards (HGTA) celebrates the highest standards of excellence and innovation in textile craftsmanship. Debuted in 2023, the awards received a total of 168 submissions from textile artisans of all ages from both urban and rural areas across Malaysia. Entries included various textile art forms like Batik, Telepuk, Songket and more.
HGTA 2023 awarded 18 Malaysian textile artisans, with a special recognition of Hasanah Gold Award “Patron of Malaysia’s Heritage Textiles”, presented by Her Majesty Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Almarhum Al-Mutawakkil Alallah Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj.
Taking shape as a pop-up textile experiential hub, IKAT –short for Immersive Knowledge and Textile – presents an immersive installation, a heritage textile gallery, hands-on workshops guided by skilled artisans, informative talks and a captivating fashion showcase. IKAT aims to enhance Malaysians’ appreciation for heritage textiles, motifs, techniques and meticulous creation processes, ultimately cultivating a robust demand for these cultural treasures.
