KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 (Bernama) — RYTHM Foundation, Qi Group’s social impact initiative, launched Kala Vriksha: The Tree of Time, a captivating showcase of traditional music and dance at the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia here today.
RYTHM Foundation chairman Datin Seri Umayal Eswaran said the event was to support promising Malaysian artistes through scholarships and grants of RM150,000 for arts entities, affirming the foundation's commitment to nurturing the country's rich cultural heritage and creative future.
“What we foresee from this is more young people embracing their culture and being able to give a stage. A lot of them come asking us for help. There are local groups that want to do performance, but they don't have enough funds.
“So we realise, this is a need in Malaysia that we need to step in, but we don't want to just give funding, we also want to emphasise about creating the awareness as we are multicultural society,” she said at a press conference here today, adding that there were currently are four schools that working in collaboration and they were trying to expand the group to at least eight schools.
Umayal shared that the Fine and Performing Arts scholarships are aimed at Malaysian students excelling in visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and literature, helping those passionate about the arts but facing financial challenges.
Earlier, Umayal in her speech encouraged everyone to foster an environment that supports artistic collaboration and innovation.
“This means actively promoting each other's programmes, sharing resources, and ensuring that our platforms are open to all. By breaking down these silos, we allow young talents to flourish, giving them the opportunity to sustain themselves in a competitive world while keeping our cultural traditions alive,” she added.
-- BERNAMA