About Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival

The Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival (YSDAF) is a biennial arts festival presented by Yayasan Sime Darby and The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) since 2014.

This Malaysian community project aims to showcase Malaysian artistes and the buzzing Malaysian arts scene – from the contemporary to the traditional, mainstream to the experimental – across all the different genres of the arts be it theatre, dance, music, visual arts or more.

“FULL OVATIONS TO KLPAC AND ALL THE CURATORS AND HUMANS WHO TOOK PART. YSDAF WAS WELL-ORGANISED. EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT. AND IT WAS INTERNATIONAL-LEVEL WHILE STILL BEAMING WITH MALAYSIAN IDENTITY. MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT WAS ENJOYABLE.”
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THE DAILY SENI

What sets it apart besides its scale is that it offers a highly interactive experience – not only can you watch performances but also pick up new skills, create your own masterpiece, learn and more through the hands-on workshops.

“THERE WAS NOT A DULL MOMENT TO BE HAD DURING THE STAR-STUDDED YAYASAN SIME DARBY ARTS FESTIVAL GALA NIGHT… ALL IN ALL, THE YAYASAN SIME DARBY GALA NIGHT WAS A BLAST…”
–
THE STAR

With a free admission tag and a friendly atmosphere, YSDAF also makes arts more accessible and inclusive. Since 2018, its festival crew undergoes Disability Equality Training (DET) and Disability-Related Services Training (DRST).

The festival is also committed to go green with sustainable practices in place.

Almost 65,000 people have benefited from some 1,500 arts activities free of charge over the past four editons. YSDAF has created more than 3,550 job opportunities.