KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa launched Art In The City (AITC) 2021 today.

The initiative, which runs from October to December this year, hopes to jumpstart Malaysia’s arts and culture industry.

In his speech, Annuar said that his ministry remains committed to helping the creative sector left reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The ministry is committed to supporting wholeheartedly the arts and culture industry which plays an important role in the country’s economic growth,” he said during the press conference at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) today.

He added that the government recognises the importance of arts and culture in revitalising the country, not only from an economic standpoint, but also from a people perspective.

"The recovery and rebuilding of the arts and culture community will help to heal the soul of the nation, our Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family).

"Therefore, KKMM invites the arts community to work with the ministry via our creative task force to create a systematic structure that will allow the country’s creative industry to flourish,” he added, using the Malay acronym for the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) CEO Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehudin lauded the government’s efforts to support the recovery of the arts and culture industry.

"Art In The City is dedicated to art and performance, with more than 100 dynamic, colourful and optimistic programmes presented this year.

"The effort’s first iteration in 2018 has now grown to encompass an array of music, dance, craft, theatre, film dance, food, heritage, history, and more spread across three full months from October to December 2021,” she said.