At the heart of the CAN Festival 2021, CAN x TWO TEMPLE PLACE was an ambitious new CAN production, co-produced with Two Temple Place and conceived and led by CAN’s artistic director An-Ting Chang. Contemporary British Chinese artists were invited to respond to the historical context and architecture of Two Temple Place, an extraordinary neo-Gothic mansion on the Embankment

Originally conceived as a live exhibition, CAN x TWO TEMPLE PLACE evolved into a unique arts encounter which used gaming technology to create a whole new 3D digital world within which to experience the work. It includes a digital exhibition populated with artworks by Donald Shek, Chloe Wing, Jack Tan, Daniel York Loh and Jasmin Kent Rodgman with digital design by Christine 挺欢 Urquhart.

Live online performances of Every dollar is a soldier/With money you’re a dragon plus workshops, talks, tours and opportunities to speak to the artists completed the programme.

Throughout 2020 Chinese Arts Now commissioned six digital works in response to the pandemic. The first five, by artists Pamela Carter, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Eelyn Lee, Seph Li and Naomi Sumner Chan, were available via the CAN website. The sixth commission, a film by Tobi Poster-Su, premiered during the festival. Chang and Eng and Me (and Me) explored the extraordinary story of Chang and Eng Bunker, the original ‘Siamese’ twins.

Stay Connected, a new festival strand in response to Covid-19, gathered artists from the 2019 and 2020 Festivals and offered a platform to share their work. 30 artists were commissioned to either create new work, share existing work or work in development. The programme contained film screenings, talks, interactive workshop and performances.

Other events included a raUcous Zoom Comedy Night with Ken Cheng, Evelyn Mok and Phil Wang and a children’s show by Little Bean streamed on the Little Angel Theatre’s YouTube channel.

In an extension to the festival, I June Queering Now, presented new performance, Instagram exhibitions and film screenings from an eclectic mix of British East and South East Asian LGBTQIA+ artists. The programme was curated by performance artist and Chinese Drag King, Whiskey Chow.