KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 22 -- For decades, Malaysia's National Art Gallery, or Balai Seni Negara, has stood as the symbolic heart of the nation's artistic expression - housing thousands of works and hosting exhibitions that helped shape Malaysia's cultural landscape.

But for director-general Amerrudin Ahmad, 55, the future of Malaysian art isn't confined within the gallery's walls along Jalan Tun Razak.

It's being shaped in fishing villages, small towns and riverbanks far from the capital - through a deliberate effort to decentralise and bring art to the people.

"When we decentralise, we realise we are no longer on the colonial-era track," he said in an interview with Malay Mail at the gallery.

"By decentralising, we elevate local business...