ROOM is a short dance film by Daniel Phung & Kayleigh Price inviting us to join their personal journey exploring identity, need for connection and space. This thought-provoking short film tackles mental health, belonging, hopes and dreams as they navigate the ever changing creative landscape – incorporating a fusion of art practices for a breath-taking audience experience.

Matt Pang (PAnGottic) presents Loaded, a video work-in-progress, where he shares ideas and tests of his newly invented ‘no-contact-audience-triggered-pneumatic catapults’. Hazel Lam presents her work-in-progress work ‘Spring Steps’. Hazel travels around the city of Hong Kong in search of a structure where she can hang her rope and do a handstand. Exploring the contrasting images of the body against landscape, the old and the new urban scenes, this movie shows what life is like upside down in this city in Spring 2021.

A cook-along audio piece for making dumplings. An invitation to nourish yourself and reflect on the power of food to transport us home.

Listen here

This piece is best experienced using headphones. It’s designed to be listened to during the folding step of dumpling making.

Content Warnings: Grief, loneliness

A look into the careers of Siu Hun Li, Andrew Koji and Brenda Lee and how they have all made an impact in Siu Hun’s journey so far. We celebrate all their achievements and look into representation for British East and South East Asians and how we move forward in getting more BESEA’s stories told on screen.

Marathon of Intimacies is a film that explores an ongoing series of choreographies in conversation. Created and performed by Anushiye Yarnell and Jo Fong. There will be a live discussion post film with the creators chaired by Tuyet Van Huynh. Marathon is a word associated with endurance and winning. Intimacy is overused in describing performance. These two words, marathon and intimacy don’t fit together All the intimacies that have been part of our lives, could they be with us while we’re dancing?

Credits: Filmmaker and photography by Lara Ward.

Thanks to Surf the Wave, Chapter Arts Centre, Chinese Arts NowPenpynfarch, Arts Council of Wales and Groundwork Pro.

Enxi Chang presents an extract from her semi-autobiographical play, ‘For Her / 还装什么男子汉’: A young trans girl is forced out of the closet by her older sister, setting off a chain of events that will change not just her life, but the lives of everyone around her too. With live discussion & Q&A with the actor Mei Mac.

Watch here.

Julia Cheng is a passionate leader in interdisciplinary work and its power to bring different communities together to create change. The INSPO talks features Lasseindra Ninja, Tom Spurgin and Anu Henriques and will be available live on Julia Cheng’s Instagram account.

This series sees each guest having played a role in pioneering initiatives, breaking barriers and making opportunities for creative collaboration discussing their careers, passions and sharing in the beauty of fusing experiences, art forms and styles.

Half a world apart, two musician friends and collaborators share their experience of living and working through the vastly different realities currently facing two cities – Taipei and London.

Presented in conversation, Stephen Ying and Belle Chen will discuss the realities of being a creative in today’s landscape. They will reflect on lessons learned from creating ‘post-covid’ interactive live shows, creating projects featured by BBC, how they are modifying the standard music ‘release cycle’ and engaging the audience in the writing process and the ways in which they are keeping inspired during this time. They will also share a sneak peek on their exciting upcoming projects, welcome audience questions, and why when performing a concerto for turntable it’s best to have a trapeze artist nearby.

We wanted to shine a light on the brilliant people who are working in offstage roles across our sector. They are the backbone of the industry, those who ‘make the magic happen’ but are often complete unseen. Join us as we put faces to some of the names you have read in programmes over the years.

Our panel, chaired by Tuyet Huynh, will discuss what drew them to their role, the opportunities available ‘offstage’ and how we can improve diversity in these roles. There will be a Q&A at the end so whether you are thinking about an offstage career, just starting out in the industry or curious about what it takes to make a performance, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Our panel includes: Tuyet Huynh (Chair), Nicola T. Chang, Nemo Martin, Nao Nagai, TK Hay, Natalie Wong

Imagine a world that is 90% non-existent. Where the things you see are not really there. Where the physical world around you is only 5% of the story. Where time does not exist.

Dream of a place that is hurtling away from you, a place where can you travel 25 thousand miles a day without moving from your seat, where everything you see also exists in a world of the unseen.

Picture a universe where everything lasts forever. Where simultaneous realities exist at once. Where invisible bonds entangle across oceans. Where invisible specks becoming smaller still create forces of heat and light. And love.

Imagine… Imagine? You don’t have to. You are already here.

FUNDMENTAL is the new show currently in development from theatremaker Jennifer Tang. It is a show that explores the ties that bind us, person to person, atom to atom, through space and time, rooted in the theories of Fundamental Physics.

Join Jennifer Tang, and scientist and artist Seph Li as they discuss the fundamental theories of physics that sit behind the ideas of the show. In the second part of the workshop, you can join Jennifer in some gentle creative exercises, inspired by the scientific theories, to help generate new content for the show.

Gasp-C continue to challenge and play with the notion of ‘Chineseness’ through their brand new immersive audio experience A-Log. Step into the world of the performing arts through the eyes of our four Asian art practitioners in the UK as they explore the challenges and current landscape.

Travelling Taitung Fringe Festival, Taiwan Biennial and Guangdong, Gasp-C will be your guide in experiencing live performance from the comfort of your home.

Ming Strike will be taking you to:

1. The Night of Xu Xian – Legend of White Snake, a site-specific performance in Taitung Fringe Festival

2. Acid House: Parallel Exhibition Tour of Taiwan Biennale

3. Performance Vidéothèque: London International Mime Festival 2021

CreAsian Collective celebrates the success of Asian creatives, inspiring and empowering others through the insights and experiences from those who have led the way.

Alice Lee is an actress, writer and producer who formed Sandy Lane Productions to create thought-provoking and inspirational stories. In conversation with Jodie Gilliam will explore her career, being an East Asian woman in the arts and her film HUSH.

Alice will also be joined by collaborator and co-creator of CreAsian Michelle Yim as they discuss the need to celebrate the success of Asian creatives and how their podcast aims to be a catalyst for debate.

Behind the perfect family facade lies a dark and dangerous secret.

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Trigger warning: this short film contains themes of domestic abuse. Please proceed with care.

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Watch here

Meet ground-breaking, British-born Chinese, trans-masc, multi-hyphenate artist The Mollusc Dimension, who creates vibrant and absurdly humorous worlds from his experiences of struggle.

Join us for the first-ever illustrated, mini deep-dive discussions of The Mollusc Dimension’s output. Discover the meanings in his symbol-infused work, and his ideas on creativity and mental health.

At the very start, there will be a five-minute premiere screening of NEW self-crafted video visions of the music from his carefully produced, carefully concealed debut album “Welcome to the Mollusc Dimension” (2019). Next, there’ll be a discussion with fellow multi-disciplinary artist Urie Jo (she/they), of Shaven Raven Designs, who features as a voice artist on the album and also designed the cover artwork.

The second half of the event is about taking bold steps. The artist will perform two poems – one about losing his dad in traumatic bereavement. This will be followed by a blossoming of recent and fresh ideas. The event culminates in a second chat, this time with Tuyet (she/her) from CAN which will explore the strange joy of intersectional pluralities.

Plus the announcement of an exciting new music project called, wait for it… “Asians have feelings too” and a search for future collaborators!

“Lifestyle with Shay/Underneath” is a story about growing up “different”, pretending to be something you are not, acting in certain ways because you think that is what is expected of you by family, friends, society. It’s about hiding parts of yourself that you feel ashamed of or embarrassed by and how far you would go to pretend to have the perfect life even though we know that there are no such things as the “perfect life”. And what happens when the part of you that you’ve buried deep down comes bubbling forth unexpectedly. It’s about the image you present to others versus what is really going on in your head.

This event starts off with a sharing of an extract from “Lifestyle with Shay/Underneath”, we then invite the audience to share their thoughts on the themes touched upon in the extract as well as their own experiences of these themes. Do you have a story of when you really wanted to tell a colleague what you thought of their backstabbing bitchiness? When you wanted to tell your flatmate to shove it up somewhere after another passive-aggressive round of post-it note war. Why didn’t you? Do you feel the need to pretend that everything is ok even when it isn’t? The need to pretend to be something you are not? Do you sometimes feel like an imposter? Wouldn’t it be great if we can say whatever is on our mind without our internal filters or the filters of what is deemed acceptable by society? We invite you to bring a cup of tea/coffee/alcohol and a story you want to share or if you don’t want to share a story then bring a drink and listen to others’ stories that will hopefully resonate long after the end of the event. This is a participatory event, but only if you want to participate of course.

Chinese Arts Now are delighted to present Alex Ho, Sun Keting, and Raymond Yiu in conversation. Discussing their own practices and exploring their points of intersection and departure, discover the vibrant ideas, sounds, collaborations, and networks that these artists draw upon to inspire their compositions and communities.

Hosted by yangqin-extraordinaire Reylon Yount, each artist presents a recent work ranging from Raymond Yiu’s tender elegy to the Chinese Labour Corps of WWI shortlisted for the RPS Chamber-Scale Composition Award, Sun Keting’s evocative meditation on silence for solo guitar, and the world premiere of Alex Ho’s explosive new work for solo piano, Knuckleduster.

Programme includes:
Knuckleduster – Alex Ho (digital premiere); Mā – Sun Keting (digital premiere); Corner of a Foreign Field – Raymond Yiu

Performers:
Tangram, Fabricio Mattos, Aidan Chan

I am a performance artist. I have always been interested in the relationship between Body, Memory and Politics through gesture, mark making and storytelling. Through video and an audience Q&A, I will share my research into some inspirational artist’s projects (including Betsy Damon, Zheng Bo and Song Chen), that address important environmental issues through the theme of water, plants and soil.

Watch here.

Grieving feels like a bowl of noodles – it’s a tangle of ends and beginnings and everyone’s got their own approach to tackling it (some are messier than others). This manual isn’t intended to be comprehensive or universally applicable, but it’s an offer to anyone who might find it useful.

This piece is a series of images containing handwritten text which you can download here.

If you would also like a typed version of the text for ease of reading, you can download it here.

The VR production of “PI PA XING” will present a VR scenography environment, which is based on Tang dynasty poem Bai Juyi’s works The song of Pipa Player. The important part of the project is to interpret the spiritual content of the show by refining symbols or metaphor, focusing on a purity of space for an unrestrained expression. It is a rethinking and recognition of the nature of arts and return to ourselves.

In this workshop created alongside the development of Lucia’s one-woman show Vegan Gluten Free, Lucia will lead mothers through creative and artistic exercises to reflect upon and share their experiences of becoming a mother in relation to cultural expectations and contemporary society.

Lucia will lead a workshop for mothers exploring people’s experience on motherhood about cultural clashes, immigrants experience, generational gaps etc through free writing, conversation and physical movements. The participants will have this time and space to share the difficult and sweet time as mothers during the pandemic period. This workshop is a part of R&D process for Lucia’s project, Vegan Gluten Free, after she first presented it at the scratch night of CAN Festival 2020.

Join us in conversation with Jennifer Lim, Mingyu Lin, Ming Ho, Lucy Sheen & Pik-sen Lim, five British East Asian women across theatre, film and TV who have had extensive career paths.

There will be poetry, excerpts and discussions as we consider the progress, the importance of representation and where we go next.

As Chinese Arts Now’s General Manager and Producer Jodie Gilliam speaks to each of the women and how their journeys have often found themselves interconnected. We look at the power of collaboration and the importance of building an industry together.

Featuring:
A Poem from Lucy Sheen

An extract from ‘Citizens of Nowhere’ by Ming Ho starring Jennifer Lim and Pik-Sen Lim.

Join Tangram Voices’ newest release – a transnational musical journey spanning three continents, curated and performed by Taiwanese flautist Yi-Hsuan Chen featuring special guests Fabricio Mattos and Joseph Halvat, and culminating in a world premiere by Brazilian composer Lucas F. Jordan.

Programme:
1. Tyzen Hsiao (1938): Fantasia for Flute and Piano
蕭泰然：長笛幻想曲<湖畔孤影>

2. Ernst von Dohnányi: Passacaglia for Flute Solo, Op. 48 No.2

3. Lucas F. Jordan: Three Scenes at the Edge of…. For Flute and Guitar (world premiere)

Scene 1: alone with myself…

Scene 2: fragile stability…

Scene 3: deception of hope

Personnel:
Flutist: Yi-Hsuan Chen, Pianist: Joseph Havlat, Guitarist/Director: Fabricio Mattos, Composer: Lucas F. Jordan, Filmmaker: Bernardo Simões

Gather the family and go through your recycling bin and cupboards. LET’S CREATE!

Join the Orang Collectif on 2 fun adventures for learning about sound and storytelling. You will create your own instruments and puppets to make your own show at home.

1. Music Workshop: Discover where sound comes from and how to make your own sound instrument using recycled items found around your house.

2. Puppet Workshop: Embark on a story-telling adventure and learn how to make your own puppets using recycled items found around your house!

Both workshops focus on the use of recycled and repurposed items, providing participants with tools to create their own performances.