News Coverage

  • Group of nine diverse people smiling and posing for a photo in an art gallery with framed artwork on the walls.

    Alter/Space: Miri’s vibrant hub for indigenous creativity

    The Tuyang Initiative opened Alter/Space in Miri, a vibrant gallery and studio celebrating indigenous Dayak culture. It offers free, community-driven creative workshops, performances, historical dialogues, and supports youth and cultural preservation.

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  • Indigenous cultural performers in traditional attire participating in a staged ritual or dance on a darkened stage.

    This Bornean team was invited to perform in Japan, now crowdfunding RM180K to make it happen

    The Tuyang Initiative, a Miri-based indigenous arts social enterprise, is crowdfunding RM180K to send 15–18 Dayak performers to Japan’s World Music & Dance Festival in Hakodate this August, showcasing “Wind & Earth.

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  • A man with black hair and tattoos playing a musical instrument with intricate carvings, sitting indoors.

    ‘It is my responsibility’: Mathew Ngau Jau on lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting ‘sape’ musical instrument

    Mathew Ngau Jau, a 72‑year‑old Kenyah cultural guardian, has tirelessly preserved the traditional sape through performance, teaching, craftsmanship, and workshops—earning national heritage honours and a lifetime achievement award.

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  • Screenshot of an online conference with five participants, including three women and two men, in various indoor and outdoor settings, with some backgrounds showing bookshelves and outdoor landscape views.

    Malaysian Social Enterprise, The Tuyang Initiative and ENZ collaborate to present the ‘Indigenous Peoples Talk Series 2023’

    The Tuyang Initiative and Education New Zealand hosted a virtual Indigenous Peoples Talk Series (Aug–Oct 2023), with three monthly panels covering Education & Technology, Social Entrepreneurship, and Arts & Culture featuring Malaysian and New Zealand Indigenous voices.

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  • Four people in a room playing musical instruments, including a woman with short dark hair and glasses playing a wooden marimba, a man with glasses and a beard playing a wooden acoustic guitar, another person partially visible, and one person playing a wooden instrument in the background.

    Spotlight on Malaysian Businesses: Keeping culture alive through digital means

    The Tuyang Initiative, based in Miri since 2017, digitally empowers indigenous cultural practitioners—offering exhibitions, workshops, cloud-based operations, virtual performances, and online invoicing—to sustain heritage and income amid modern challenges.

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  • An elderly man wearing a beige headscarf with feathers, a black shirt, and a colorful vest, sitting against a gray background and holding a large wooden stringed instrument with tuning pegs and decorative carvings.

    Sarawakian sape master Mathew Ngau Jau shares what perpetuating culture is really about

    Mathew Ngau Jau, 72, Kenyah Ngorek “Keeper of the Kenyah Ngorek Songs,” revitalises the Bornean sape through performance, teaching, craftsmanship, and innovation—earning national heritage status and multiple lifetime‑achievement awards

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