KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — The Krishen Jit Fund has awarded a total of five grants amounting to RM46,000 this year to encourage and support creative work in Malaysia.

Named after the late Malaysian theatre icon Datuk Krishen Jit, the fund was launched in 2006 by Astro and Five Arts Centre - that Jit set up in 1984 — to provide monetary aid for deserving pursuits in arts.

Since 2020, the Krishen Jit Fund is also supported by the Creador Foundation.

The fund rolls out grants for training, workshops, attachments or residencies, experimental productions, writing or creating new work in music, dance, theatre, film, visual or performance art.

This year, the fund garnered 60 applications and five recipients were selected to receive the prestigious grants.

Among the recipients was Andrew Igai Jamu, a choreographer and researcher focusing on indigenous dance and tourism in Sarawak.

Andrew received RM15,000 for his Ibanscapes: Transcending Ajat project, a production by the newly formed Ruai Collective, that will present new choreographies inspired by the Ajat of Iban people.

Meanwhile, Teochew Puppet and Opera House founder and director Goh Hooi Ling took home RM11,000 for her project that explores the history of three primary traditional craftsmanship within Teochew Iron Rod Puppetry.

These include clay sculpture, wood carving and Teochew embroidery.

Penang-based Lau Beh Chin was given RM10,000 for her Beyond Moving with Artisans project that combines traditional Malaysian crafts with dance, to preserve the endangered artisan skills and oral history of Butterworth City.

Sound designer and recordist Duncan Soo was awarded RM5,000 for his audiovisual exhibition that will showcase the sounds of Malaysia, ranging from the sounds of paper lama trucks to the natural symphonies of tropical rainforests.

Likewise, Kenyan national Naomi Kakuvi Musau received RM5,000 for her student short film project Thanimai that follows the life of an elderly Indian widower preparing for her late husband’s death anniversary.

All five recipients were presented with their grants during a ceremony at the Five Arts Centre Studio in Bukit Bintang on Wednesday (December 13).

Between 2006 and 2022, the Krishen Jit Fund has distributed a total of 84 grants amounting to RM626,000.