SRI WARISAN

Malay performing arts group

Malay performing arts group Sri Warisan is making heritage "glow", said its founder and Cultural Medallion winner Som Said, 69.

It has taken traditional Malay art forms like wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre) and dikir barat (a form of choral singing accompanied by percussion) to more than 110 cities in 40 countries, through competitions and performances.

In Singapore, it has conducted 17 arts initiatives - including workshops, music and hands-on programmes - in various schools.

When classes at school premises were discontinued during the circuit breaker period, the group transitioned to using videoconferencing to continue communicating with one another and to keep practising their craft at home. Said Madam Som: "In a multiracial society such as ours, it is all the more important to enrich tradition, even as we move forward, for it to stay relevant."