The Krishen Jit ASTRO Fund

The Krishen Jit ASTRO Fund has been created by ASTRO to encourage and support creative work in Malaysia. One of the main objectives of Krishen’s pioneering work was celebrating original Malaysian creativity in as varied and alternative ways as possible in all the areas of the arts. His groundbreaking theatre practice straddled and brought together a wide range of contesting spheres, producing projects that were inter-disciplinary, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and experimental. Negotiating between academia and practice, tradition and contemporary pop culture, Hollywood and Bollywood, the mainstream and the marginalized, Krishen’s work articulated a Malaysian identity that was ever evolving and encouraged practitioners and audiences to reflect on their lives and societies. This is the spirit of the Krishen Jit ASTRO Fund.

The fund will give out grants ranging from RM5,000 to RM20,000 for :

• Training
• Workshops
• Attachments/residencies
• Experimental productions
• Research and documentation
• Writing
• Creating new work in music, dance, theatre, writing, visual/performance art
• Others

Examples include, but are not limited to:

- Artist A might want to study under well known Indonesian theatre director Putu Wijaya. Artist A could apply to be attached to a production directed by Putu Wijaya for a 4-6 week period. This would give artist A insights and learning on methods of this director.

- Artist B might want to do research on a subject for purposes of writing a new script. Artist B could apply to do this research and write the script.

- Artist C could apply to direct and mount an experimental workshop or production.

- Artist D could apply to attend a training workshop within or outside of Malaysia.

- Attachments and internships.

The Krishen Jit ASTRO Fund will try to be inclusive, but work sited in Malaysia will be given preference. All arts practitioners in Malaysia are eligible to apply. The fund will be managed by Five Arts Centre and ASTRO.

The selection panel for awarding the grants shall comprise :

• Ravi Navaratnam – Five Arts Centre
• Mac Chan – Five Arts Centre
• Kathy Rowland – Kakiseni.com
• Norliza Rofli – Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Malaysia
• Representative from ASTRO.