SEANAF 2025 Celebrates Artistic Diversity of Southeast Asia’s Indigenous Cultures in Kuching

Arts, culture, creativity, and social entrepreneurship. To what extent does each section play a part in? How and what is the fine line of fair trade that one (or many parties) seek to balance in the midst of pursuing a social impact entrepreneurial endeavor?

These were the questions thrown in between keynote speakers and participants from ASEAN during Southeast Asia Native Art Forum (SEANAF) 2025 recently held in Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia.

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Held at Merdeka Palace from September 11 to 13, 2025, this creative-centric forum was organized by the Sukaseni Organisation Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC).

Cross-border dialog as a catalyst to navigate creative industry present and shape its futures.

Social entrepreneurs attending seanaf to upskill their knowledge Credit: Ruhfar

According to the Sukaseni’s Founder Raffy Syazwan Arpandi, this three-day regional forum is dedicated to celebrating, promoting, and preserving the native artistic traditions of Southeast Asia.

“It brings together a diverse community of artists, scholars, cultural practitioners, policymakers, and art enthusiasts to share knowledge, build networks, and to explore the evolving landscape of indigenous arts in the region.”

Through SEANAF 2025, it is hoped that highlighting the role of native arts in shaping inclusive creative industry policies can celebrate ASEAN’s artistic diversity and support the sustainable development of both cultural communities and traditional art forms.

An enriching forum that bridges art, heritage and policy

The first two days saw mind-brewing panel sessions from Sonia Luhong Wan of HAUS Kuching and Borneo Bengkel from Sarawak Malaysia; Ekachant Jun-Urairat from Thai Master Craftsmen Association, and Kharisma Cahayati Delegation from Padepokan Bumi Ageung Saketi, Indonesia, among others.

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The key program highlighted roundtables, and networking sessions by craftmasters, art curators and leading regional experts within the sectors of heritage, art and policy.