Contemporary artists and arts professionals from across Asia will share their stories with a worldwide audience for OzAsia Talks – a series of critical conversations presented by Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival from 20 October to 3 November 2020.
Programmed and hosted by recently appointed OzAsia Festival Artistic Director Annette Shun Wah, the innovative new online series will feature panel discussions, artist profiles and poetry performances.
OzAsia Festival will post the talks to its Facebook page, including In Conversation interviews with Helpmann award-winning playwright S. Shakthidharan and renowned Singaporean theatre director Ong Keng Sen.
Panel discussions will bring together cultural leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds – everyone from Jing Han, a subtitler for Chinese reality TV show If You Are the One, to Anchuli Felicia King – an exciting Thai-Australian artist whose debut last year saw three plays staged in major theatres around the world.
“In a year when so much has happened to shift the way in which individuals and communities connect with each other, the cultural engagement of Australia and Asia could not be more crucial.,” said OzAsia Festival Artistic Director Annette Shun Wah.
“The arts play a vital role in deepening this engagement, but the pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on artistic practice and thinking. OzAsia Talks is an opportunity to share experiences and new ideas from artists and arts leaders in our region.”
The series will launch on Tuesday 20 October with a live event for an invited audience at the redeveloped Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, where Shun Wah will be joined on stage by Art Gallery of South Australia Director Rhana Devenport ONZM and international panellists via video link.
OzAsia Talks (Live) will be livestreamed on Facebook and is supported by a grant from Multicultural Affairs, Department of Premier and Cabinet. It will include a special introduction from OzAsia Festival Patron and Governor of South Australia, His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC.
“Despite many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the OzAsia Festival is continuing its quest to promote arts and culture. I’m delighted to see the festival using creative ways to reach out to the broader audience and artists. This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate cultural diversity and artistic excellence in new and exciting ways,” said His Excellency.
The talks series will conclude with Drop the Mic – a collection of poetry readings curated by the team behind the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival, who normally present the three-day satellite event JLF Adelaide at OzAsia Festival. The line-up will include Australian poets Jasmin Kaur, Gina Williams and Manal Younus.
For family audiences who are fans of the ever-popular Moon Lantern Parade, OzAsia Festival will present an online lantern making workshop from October 23. The workshop includes an education resource and is supported by the Confucius Institute at the University of Adelaide.
Other OzAsia Festival 2020 activities include Indian dance workshops with Mudra Dance Academy for local school students later this month. Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED program, the workshops were made possible thanks to the work of the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation and with the generous support of the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation.
OzAsia Festival is Australia’s leading contemporary arts festival engaging with Asia. Last year’s festival attracted 200,000 attendances across a range of sold-out shows and popular free events. The 2019 program featured 60 events – including five world-first performances and 22 Australian premieres – presented by 850 artists from more than 20 countries.
“We know how much everyone looks forward to OzAsia Festival each year,” said Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM. “It plays such a vital role in championing contemporary artists and enhancing Australia’s social, cultural and economic relationship with Asia.”
“Although we cannot present a full program this year, OzAsia Talks will allow us to connect with our loyal audiences while also engaging with viewers from all over the world. This is a fabulous digital re-imagining of OzAsia Festival in a year when our relationships within a global community are more important than ever before.”
“We hope to welcome back larger audiences to ticketed performances and the Moon Lantern Parade at Adelaide Festival Centre in 2021,” said Mr Gautier.
OzAsia Talks takes place from from 20 October to 3 November 2020, and can be viewed on the OzAsia Festival website and Facebook Page. For more information, visit: www.ozasiafestival.com.au for details.
Image: S. Shakthidharan and Annette Shun Wah – courtesy of OzAsia Festival