Arts and Crafts Exhibition and Gardening Festival kick off a month-long celebration of Arts, Culture and Lifestyle at WAK Festival 2022 in the heart of Kuching City.
Kuching, Sarawak 1 October 2022 – The much anticipated What About Kuching Festival
affectionately known as WAK kicks off today with the official launching of 2 of its
component events at tHe Spring Mall here in Kuching.
Graced by the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts Sarawak and also
the Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak, YB Dato Sri Haji
Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Artistically About Kuching showcases some of the best of
Sarawak Arts and Crafts whereas SproutFest is a celebration of all things related to the
exciting fad of hobby gardening.
Speaking at these events which also signifies the official launching of the What About
Kuching 2022 Festival, on the Artistically About Kuching exhibition, the minister stressed
on the importance of highlighting Kuching and Sarawak’s world class arts & crafts products
which have received global accolades such as Kuching as a World Crafts City by the
World Crafts Council and the many prestigious awards bestowed on our many artists and
artisans and their products by UNESCO and other international agencies.
‘Master craftsmen and women such as the few Living Legends and Adiguru Kraf we
acknowledge here today must be generous and willing to teach and share their skills and
mastery to the younger generations to ensure continuity.’ Karim emphasised.
The minister also urged the many schools and institutions of higher learning to continue
propagating creativity amongst the youths and to include more avenues for our students to
embark on careers in the creative fields. He also stressed that contemporary art that
combines the traditional and the modern styles and techniques could be a way forward to
ensure that Sarawak’s rich cultural identity can be maintained as we move into an era of
modern, digital art and NFTs.
‘Kudos to WAK for creating this community platform and I must congratulate all the
communities involved for embracing this showcase as your own.’ Karim congratulated.
Artistically About Kuching is open to the general public from the 1 to 31 October 2022
between the hours of 11 am to 8 pm at G13/G14 ground floor of tHe Spring Mall. Arts and
crafts can also sign up for workshops and talks to be held throughout the month of
October. Details of these can be viewed via the @aboutkuching social media handles.
On SproutFest, the minister applauded the organiser, Kuching Plant Club for taking this
initiative to bring together the many gardening communities that have gained much traction
over the last few years of movement control order. Karim stated, ‘I fully appreciate how this
healthy hobby has been very mentally and physically therapeutic to many of us stuck at
home over the last few difficult years. It is indeed mentally refreshing to see your plants
and gardens growing well in a period that saw so much gloom.’
The minister also lauded the organisers for including school and university teachers,
lecturers and students to participate in the many activities held, ‘kudos to the organiser, we
indeed need to start them young’, he re-iterated.
SproutFest happens over 2 weekends in October 2022 at Level 2 of tHe Spring Mall
showcasing the many gardening as well as ‘farm to table’ concept food vendors. This
special event will also feature workshops, talks and competitions throughout its staging
periods in a festive atmosphere.
The What About Kuching 2022 Festival happens in the heart of Kuching City from 1 to 31
October 2022. This multi genre arts, culture and lifestyle festival features events from
music to dance to theatre to spoken word and much more. Log onto
www.aboutkuching.com to download its digital calendar programme and also to purchase
tickets to the many exciting offerings.
