03 September 2019
Maybank Celebrates the Ancient Art of Textile Weaving in ASEAN
From left: Ms Jennifer Chan, Deputy Chief Executive of NHB; Ms Chung May Khuen, Director-Designate for National Museum of Singapore; Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation and Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsudin, Chairman of Maybank & Maybank Foundation after the MOU signing.
In conjunction with the Officiating Ceremony of ‘Entwine: Maybank Women Eco-Weavers Meet Southeast Asian Artists’ travelling exhibition, Maybank Group, through its Corporate Responsibility arm (CR), Maybank Foundation, signed a 3-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB) on 3 September 2019 at the National Museum of Singapore.
Witnessed by Ms. Jennifer Chan, Deputy Chief Executive of NHB and Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsudin, Chairman of Maybank & Maybank Foundation, the MOU was signed by Ms Chung May Khuen, Director-Designate for National Museum of Singapore and Mr Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation on behalf of Maybank to commemorate future collaboration between the two parties. The Officiating Ceremony was attended by Dato’ Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN; H.E. Jun Yamazaki, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore; H.E. Margriet Vonno, Ambassador of Netherlands to Singapore; Mr. Adrian Bernie Cabardo Candolada, Minister and Consul General at the Embassy of the Republic of Philippines in Singapore; Mr. Kim Jong Moon, Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister and Consul General at the Embassy of Republic of Korea in Singapore and other dignitaries.
The Memorandum of Understanding will focus on the preservation and the sustainability of ASEAN’s ancient art of textile weaving. The potential areas of collaboration are the exhibitions and installations that may include co-curation, joint-commissioning, and the hosting of travelling exhibitions as well as research, publications, information and technology sharing. ‘Entwine: Maybank Women Eco-Weavers Meet Southeast Asian Artists’ travelling exhibition marks the first collaboration in the collective bid to ensure the sustainability of arts and culture throughout the region, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable though protecting and safeguarding the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
“Our ASEAN region is home to magnificent handwoven fabrics. From the ikats of Cambodia and Thailand, to the golden songket of Indonesia and Malaysia, to the Philippine pina silk and the Burmese acheik - each country offers a weaving tradition that are unique yet demonstrating a shared tradition that is undoubtedly ASEAN.”
Shahril Azuar Jimin
CEO, Maybank Foundation
“The exhibition has attracted thousands of locals and tourists since it opened two weeks ago, to view featured artworks from 6 contemporary ASEAN artists who were inspired after meeting weavers in Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. The public also got a glimpse into the livelihood and artistic talents of these weavers who are supported by the Maybank Women Eco-Weavers programme. What we are doing is central to our mission of Humanising Financial Services, creating livelihood and employability.”
Dr. John Lee Hin Hock
CEO, Maybank Singapore
Combining Maybank Women Eco-Weavers with Maybank’s passion for arts, we wanted to be able to tell the stories of weavers at the international level. Curated by Khairuddin Hori, ‘Entwine: Maybank Women Eco-Weavers Meet Southeast Asian Artists’ is a celebration of our collective ASEAN identity of the ancient art of textile weaving and the joys of appreciating the many iterations and interpretations of fine arts, whilst empowering ASEAN artists on all facets of life. The exhibition was opened to public viewing from 21 August until 8 September 2019. As Maybank’s first ever regional art exhibition, it featured artworks from 6 contemporary ASEAN artists; Lugas Syllabus, Lyle Buencamino, Shahrul Jamili, Sharon Chin, Sheryo and Ubatsat Sutta who are well-versed in various mediums and subject matters that highlights the qualities of the many creative individuals with refreshing and colourful perspectives within our cultural landscape through the ancient art of textile weaving.
Maybank Women Eco-Weavers programme is a programme that promotes traditional textiles globally in a sustainable manner, whilst creating economic independence and financial inclusion for women weavers across the ASEAN region. This critically acclaimed programme attempts to preserve the ASEAN heritage by leveraging the ancient art of textile weaving as the proponent of economic development in the region. To date, the programme which runs in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia has trained over 650 weavers and supported 400 farmers who have grown more than 50,000 mulberry trees for feeding and rearing of silkworm.
