2024 MARKS THE 10-year milestone for new and mid-generation cultural workers in Penang. The new generation are the pioneering creative businesses, while the mid-generation have come to terms with the reality that traditional arts face low recognition and support. However, what they have managed to accomplish is a unique confidence in Penang’s Chinese community; they have carefully and firmly rooted themselves here, writing chapters in its art history.
Though Taiwan and Penang are important centres of Chinese culture, their developmental trajectories show significant differences. Taiwan, a predominantly Han Chinese society, has a relatively homogeneous cultural inheritance. Penang, however, is a multicultural society with the Chinese making up approximately 50% of the population, coexisting with the Malays, Indians and other ethnic groups. This socio-environmental difference has led to distinct characteristics in craft inheritance between the two locations.
