Press Statement from Institute for Cultural Enterprise

3 July 2006

Institute for Cultural Enterprise (ICE) was founded in 2000 by the Ford Foundation to promote cultural entrepreneurship around the world. For the last six years, ICE has provided seed grants for organizations from Doual'art in Douala, Cameroon, to ProyectArte in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to world music trade fair in Cannes, France, to Souk Ukaz in Amman, Jordan. ICE's sponsored projects range from networking, to research, to training, we promote innovations and experimentations, ensuring sustainability in the arts and culture around the world.

The island of Penang is a natural cultural marketplace because it is a historic port with diverse and vibrant culture. Recognizing market development as the most crucial element for the success and sustainability of cultural enterprises, ICE is providing seed grant, through Lestari Heritage Network, to support the product value chain by targeting production, promotion, and distribution of creative products.

One focus of our efforts is the development of Little Penang Street Market. We are extremely pleased to be working with a team of long-time Penang residents who are passionate about the arts, as well as receiving the support of The Garage and Tourism Penang. Little Penang Street Market is a place where both residents and tourists would find traditional crafts, new decorative arts, specialty food, heritage products. It is also an arena where artisans and traders and the public meet each other, share resources, and exchange creative ideas.

At ICE, we believe that creative and commerce need to intertwine to make room for growth and innovation. Therefore, in conjunction with the Street Market, we are also launching a Cultural Entrepreneurship Program. Seed funds from ICE will enable local designers to collaborate with social service organizations to improve their craft products. It will also provide emerging and traditional artisans marketing assistance to increase visibility of their trades. We hope corporate sponsors, private individuals, and government entities would join us in this pilot project to nurture and support future cultural entrepreneurers.

Irene Leung, PhD
Regional Coordinator

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