Cultural organisations partner to present new festival

An unprecedented partnership between 14 major cultural institutions will see the presentation of the inaugural Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts (Asia TOPA) in Melbourne next year.

The program - which is presented in association with a further 30 independent arts organisations, both local and national – will feature over 60 productions, exhibitions and events from 15 Asia-Pacific nations, of which 25 are world premieres specially commissioned for Asia TOPA.

As well as addressing the dearth of contemporary Asian art on Melbourne stages, the festival will also actively court the city’s Asian-Australian population - including international students - in order to help bring new and more diverse audiences into the city’s existing cultural institutions.

Asia TOPA is a joint initiative of the Sidney Myer Fund - led by its Chairman, philanthropist Carrillo Gantner - and Arts Centre Melbourne.

The Victorain Government is supporting Asia TOPA as part of the $115 million creative industries strategy, Creative State.

Commenting on the support, Victoria’s Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley stated “Asia TOPA’s landmark collaborative programming model is a game-changer for the sector and a first for Australia.

“Uniting Melbourne’s major cultural institutions together with many small to medium enterprises in truly coordinated programming reflects Victoria’s innovative approach to creative practice and our commitment to engaging with cultural partners, artists and producers in communities across the Asia-Pacific.”

Carrillo Gantner noted his family’s long engagement with the arts and, stating that the launch of Asia TOPA was “in some part the culmination of efforts for many family members over several generations.”

Gantner added “i want to stress that this is not an educational or charitable exercise put on because it’s worthy, education or indeed even good for you. This is an artistic event of the highest calibre. Asia TOPA will indeed educate, it will support Asia’s economic development … and it will now create oopportunities for Australian artists, but it is first and foremost a celebration of the very best contemporary arts our region has to offer.”

Describing the consortium approach to presenting Asia TOPA as “a genuinely new model for delivering such a major event”, Gantner also reflected on his long history of support of and passion for Asian art.

He concluded “I can’t imagine being happier or prouder of any event across my entire career.”

The Asia TOPA Consortium consists of Arts Centre Melbourne, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Chunky Move, Federation Square, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company, Museum Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, State Library Victoria, The Australian Ballet and the Victorian College of the Arts.

In addition, more than 30 independent local and national arts organisations, many from the small to medium sector, have collaborated to present Asia-focused programs including: Australian Tapestry Workshop, Arts House, Asialink, Bluebottle, Chamber Made Opera, CIRCA, Dancenorth, Footscray

Community Arts Centre, La Mama, Melbourne Writers Festival, Next Wave Festival, Polyglot, The Optimists Association, and more plus numerous independent artists.

As well as showcasing a wide range of works across the visual and performing arts, including Papua New Guinean hip hop, to Bollywood concerts, Indonesian cinema, and Chinese ballet, the Asia TOPA program also features a range of cross-cultural collaborations between Australian and Asia Pacific artists.

Arts Centre Melbourne Chief Executive Claire Spencer said cultural engagement was key to deepening and enriching our relationship with Asia, adding “artists celebrate and embrace what is unique and what is different about us and ultimately they hold a mirror up to our society.

“Today, more than ever, the time is ripe to be reaching out, not looking inward, and Asia TOPA enables us to enrich our view of, and connection to, the myriad cultures

within our region.”

The inaugural Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts (Asia TOPA) runs from January through to April 2017 in Melbourne.

For more information go to www.asiatopa.com.au

Images (from top): Arts Centre Melbourne,TOPA Asia performance Dancing with Death and the Asia TOPO logo.

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