Innovation through necessity: reflection's on Malaysian producers' camp

Panelists speak at the opening of the Asian Producers Platform Camp

"What do you actually get out of doing this?"

“What does it mean to return to a place you've outgrown?”

Twenty years after leaving Malaysia's theatre scene, I found myself pondering both these questions as I navigated familiar streets that felt both unchanged and utterly different.

It's the kind of practical query that keeps arts managers honest. The answers, as it turned out, were complicated – in the best possible way. My week with APPCAMP offered an unexpected lens on both evolution and stasis in Southeast Asian arts practice.

The Malaysia I left had limited market size, complex censorship frameworks, and religious considerations shaping creative practice.

The Malaysia I found? Those challenges persist (some things never change in the arts, do they?). Yet what struck me was how necessity has bred remarkable innovation.

While we in New Zealand often work within established funding frameworks and institutional structures, Malaysian artists have developed extraordinary resourcefulness.

They're making remarkable work not despite constraints, but because of them. APPCAMP itself reflects this innovative spirit.

Square: "Moving between cities wasn't just about geography; we experienced different facets of Malaysia's arts ecology."

Moving between cities wasn't just about geography; we experienced different facets of Malaysia's arts ecology.

It was a journey through different approaches to creative survival and growth. But the real value emerged in unexpected moments – late-night conversations about audience development (yes, that's still keeping everyone up at night), impromptu mentoring sessions with emerging producers (who see things so differently from my generation), passionate debates about cultural practice in post-colonial contexts. You can't schedule these moments.

They emerge from the space APPCAMP creates for genuine connection.

The generational shift was particularly fascinating. Many of my contemporaries now lead Malaysia's arts, political, and social sectors (we've come a long way from those early experimental and repertory theatre days).

Yet a new generation of practitioners is asking different questions – about cultural appropriation versus appreciation, about sustainable careers in challenging markets, about building audiences in an increasingly fractured landscape.

Their energy and innovation is infectious, though they face obstacles that feel uncomfortably familiar.

Square: "...the real value emerged in unexpected moments – late-night conversations about audience development, impromptu mentoring sessions with emerging producers..."

So what did I actually get out of it? Three things primarily:

1. Access to a cohort of passionate, innovative producers from across Asia-Pacific (who are solving similar problems in fascinatingly different ways)

2. Deep insights into how Malaysian arts practice has evolved – or hasn't – since my departure (some things change, some things stubbornly resist change)

3. Renewed connections with old colleagues and exciting relationships with emerging practitioners (who remind me why I fell in love with this sector in the first place) But perhaps most importantly, a reminder that our industry fundamentally runs on relationships, not transactions.

This hits at a core challenge for New Zealand's arts sector: despite our geographical proximity and shared cultural connections, pathways for meaningful exchange between Asian practitioners and Aotearoa remain limited.

We often default to Western models of exchange and development, overlooking the rich possibilities in our own region (when was the last time we seriously looked at Asian models of arts practice?).

The camp was an opportunity to hear from a diverse range of voices and explore producing as a creative practice.

Looking ahead makes my head spin a bit. It's not just about maintaining these connections – it's about transforming them into tangible opportunities for exchange and development.

Money's always the elephant in the room (when isn't it?), but the innovative spirit I witnessed suggests exciting possibilities.

Malaysian practitioners have developed remarkable approaches to creating work with limited resources – approaches that could offer valuable lessons for Aotearoa's arts sector as we face our own funding challenges.

Ultimately, APPCAMP demonstrated that while our markets and contexts may differ, independent producers across Asia-Pacific share core challenges and aspirations.

The New Zealand contingent at APPCamp

The solutions we develop together might look different from Western models – and that's exactly the point.

By investing in these relationships and understanding different approaches to practice, we create opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange that can enrich both our sectors and our audiences.

That's what I got out of it.

The real question now is: what will we collectively make of these opportunities? And perhaps more provocatively: are we ready to learn from models of practice that don't fit our comfortable Western frameworks?

The Foundation's Arts Programme brings Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of Asia. It also supports the presentation of Asian arts in partnership with New Zealand arts organisations and events.

Our Arts Practitioners Fund provides support for experiential opportunities for individual New Zealand-based arts practitioners to deepen artistic and professional connections with Asia, including residencies, work placements, research tours and exchanges.