Yogyakarta, October 2026 — Across Southeast Asia, cultural traditions have long crossed national borders, shaped by centuries of migration, trade and exchange. This October, artists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will bring this shared history and heritage to the stage in Yogyakarta through two new performances born from a cross-border collaborative process.
The performances mark the culmination of Embracing Shared Heritage through Performing Arts, a regional initiative implemented by UNESCO in partnership with Temasek Foundation. Hutan will be presented as part of Pesta Boneka on 6-7 October at Kampung Media and Rumah dari Lidah (House of Tongue), exploring Peranakan heritage and identity, will be presented as part of the Bedog Arts Festival on 9-10 October at Studio Banjarmili.
Developed over four months of exchange and co-creation among artists from the three countries, the two productions explored what “shared heritage” means in Southeast Asia. The collaboration brought together different histories, identities and artistic traditions, opening new possibilities for how shared heritage can be interpreted and expressed through performance.
Artistic expressions transcend borders, often in unexpected ways, even though artists themselves do not always have the same freedom to move and meet. Through this project, we wanted to create that opportunity and see what could emerge when artists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore explored their shared heritage together.
Moe ChibaHead of Culture, UNESCO Regional Office in Jakarta
Across Southeast Asia, our communities are connected in many ways, while each has its own traditions, stories and perspectives. The arts offer a powerful way for people to come together, discover different experiences and find common ground. Through this partnership, Temasek Foundation hopes such exchanges will build stronger connections across cultures and contribute to greater harmony in diversity across our region
