The Australia Council's recent strategy to build creative relationships and increase artistic collaborations with Asia has led to increased funding of collaborative work.
What follows is a selection of recent collaborations between Australian and Asian artists.
Creative Partnerships with Asia
The Australia Council's Creative Partnerships with Asia grant supports creative partnerships between artists working in Australia and artists working in Asia. The objectives of this initiative are to increase artistic collaborations with Asia leading to the creation of new work and develop long term networks between artists in Australia and Asia.
In 2014, Leisa Shelton from Victoria was funded for a cultural and artistic exchange between Taipei and Melbourne.
In 2013, South Australian dance artist Ade Suharto was funded for Ontosoroh, an Australian Indonesian dance/music collaboration between Ade Suharto and Peni Candra Rini.
Ontosoroh, by Ada Suharto and Peni Chandra Rini
Asia in Australia
This Australia Council grant program supports Australian arts companies and presenters to invite artists and companies from Asia to present their work, or undertake a commissioned project with an associated premiere, in Australia. The grant is focused on public outcomes that will connect exciting contemporary work from Asia with Australian audiences.
Applications that feature new or existing partnerships, as well as collaborative work made between Australian and Asian artists, are also eligible to apply. The objectives of this grant program are to enable Australian audiences and artists to access exciting work from our region, to support creative exchanges with Asian partners, and to increase programming options of work from our region for Australian presenters.
In 2014 Victorian dance artist Tony Yap was funded to present the world premiere of kekkai: beyond fixed boundaries at Castlemaine State Festival 2015 (see more of his collaboration below).
Korea-Australia Connection Initiative
The Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS) and the Australia Council for the Arts partnered on the Korea-Australia Connection Initiative to support performing arts professionals to research and develop new collaborative projects. Applicants need to demonstrate their ability to coordinate an international collaboration project and understand the region.
The initiative ran in 2011 and 2012 and will continue in 2013/2014 and 2014/15 with some significant changes. It now includes a two-stage research and development process over two years—2013/14 and 2014/15.
Stage one (2013/14), the research exchange, supports travel by three performing arts professionals from Australia to Korea in October 2014.
Dance artists who received funding in 2014 are Jeremy Neideck and physical theatre company Stalker. Dance/movement projects previously supported through this initiative are
- 2012: Tony Yap Company and Theatre Nottle’s Kekkai: Beyond Fixed Boundaries and Legs on the Wall and AsiaNow’s The Tale of Samulnori.
- 2011: Strange Fruit and Noreum Machi’s In the Shadow of the Dragon, and Not Yet It’s Difficult and Wuturi’s AMPERS&ND
Jeremy Neideck
Jeremy Neideck has had a long relationship with Korea having already completed residencies with The National Theater of Korea and The National Art Studio (Seoul), the Seoul Art Space_Mullae. He also received a three-month residency program at The National Art Studio (Changdong) and was a 2014 Asialink Resident at The National Changgeuk Company of Korea. Look at more of Jeremy's work on YouTube. Watch an example of Jeremy's 2012 Transcultural Dance Theatre work Deluge.
Tony Yap Company
kekkai: beyond fixed boundaries, which has just received funding through the Australia Council’s Asia in Australia grant for its next stage—a premiere at the 2015 Castlemaine Festival—is a work by long-term collaborators Tony Yap Company and Theatre Nottle (South Korea). It has been produced by Kath Papas from Kath Papas Productions. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Kath is a creative producer and arts consultant with special passions for dance and intercultural projects. In 2012 she undertook an Asialink Residency, hosted by The Arts Island Festival (Indonesia), directed by Agung Gunawan and Melaka Arts and Performance Festival (Malaysia). Since 2010, she has been producer of Tony Yap Company and also develops and tours the work of other independent artists.
The work has undergone three stages of development by the two companies: in Korea at Nottle’s home base of Hooyong-ri in 2010; in Australia at Bundanon and Melbourne in 2011, with support from Monash University; and in Hooyong-ri and Seoul in 2013, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Korea-Australia Connection Initiative. The 2013 development culminated in a showing at Seoul Art Space, Mullae Art Factory, on Friday 26 April and a Looking for International Partners showcase at Performing Arts Market Seoul 2013.
Watch Australian artists (Legs on the Wall, Tony Yap Comany, Kath Papas Productions) and Korean artists (Nottle Theatre, AsiaNow) discuss their collaborate experiences (filmed during the Korea Australia Connection Box 2013).
Strange Fruit and Noreum Machi’s In the Shadow of the Dragon
2011 Korea-Australia Connection Initiative grant recipients discuss their initial creative development meeting.