OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is a major arts festival in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is an Asia-focused festival presented by the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first capital city multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the early 1970s and designed by Hassell (architecture firm), Hassell Architects. The Festival The ...

for two weeks in late October to early November each year. Founded in 2007, the festival features

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, dance, music,film, and

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

from across Asia as well as outdoor events and

food stall A food boothalso called a food kiosk, food stand, food stall or temporary food service facilityis a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at ...

s. In some years it has focused on specific regions or countries in Asia. Since 2017, the festival has included the Lucky Dumpling Market, comprising numerous food stalls set up along the river bank. From 2018 to 2020, the event included JLF Adelaide, an offshoot of the

Jaipur Literary Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), often hailed as the "''greatest literary show on Earth''," is a renowned annual cultural and literary festival held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Established in 2006 by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dal ...

, and in 2021 OzAsia Festival presented In Other Words, a digital and in-person literature festival.

History

After the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

wiped a -million debt from Adelaide's Festival Centre in the 2005–2006 State Budget, the Festival Centre began a five-year financial rebuilding programme. OzAsia Festival resulted from the Government of South Australia and the Adelaide Festival Centre, led by CEO and artistic director

Douglas Gautier Douglas Gautier is an Australian arts administrator. He lived in Hong Kong for around 25 years, where he worked in various roles in the arts and entertainment world, before being appointed CEO and artistic director of the Adelaide Festival Centr ...

, partnering in 2007 to create a new arts festival of national and cultural significance, and was one of several ideas to revive the Adelaide Festival Centre. The inaugural OzAsia Festival was held 21 September – 7 October 2007, and stood on two key guiding principles: the contribution of Australian artists and performers who identify with an Asian cultural heritage and the constant stream of collaboration between Australia and its regional neighbours. Its program was built on four pillars: performing arts, visual arts, cultural debate, and community involvement. The first OzAsia Festival program was produced by executive director, Nick Skibinski, who was succeeded by Jacinta Thompson as festival director the following year. From 2010 to 2015, the festival undertook a country of focus initiative, each year emphasising a particular country to grow stronger cultural ties between Australia and key countries in the region. 2010 it was Korea; 2011, Japan; 2012, India; 2013, Malaysia; and 2014, Thompson's last program, China. In 2015, Joseph Mitchell became the OzAsia Festival artistic director. He shifted the program rationale from focussing on a single country each year to instead showcase the best contemporary art and artists from across Asia, including the Middle East (Western Asia). HKDragon2 2016

In May 2020

Annette Shun Wah Annette Shun Wah (born 26 March 1958) is an Australian freelance writer, director, actress, and broadcaster. she has an extensive career in the Australian screen and performance industries, particularly in television, film and theatre. Since 2013 ...

was appointed director of the festival, taking over from Joseph Mitchell. The festival in November 2020 was cancelled owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Timeline 2020 On 11 March, the SA state government announced ...

. In 2021 it went ahead from 21 October to 7 November, though some shows were cancelled due to COVID-19. It was reported that festival organisers also cancelled the participation of the Hong Kong Cultural Association of South Australia due to its use of yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the 2014

Umbrella Movement The Umbrella Movement () was a political movement that emerged during the 2014 Hong Kong protests. Its name arose from the use of umbrellas as a tool for nonviolent resistance, passive resistance to the Hong Kong Police Force's use of pepper ...

Events

The Moon Lantern Parade is a free public event and an integral part of OzAsia Festival that celebrates the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...

, which is an official harvest festival traditionally celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese. The Moon Lantern parade begins after sunset, and is followed by fireworks over the

River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

. OzAsia films are shown at the

Mercury Cinema Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...

Morphett Street Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, parallel to King William Street and numbered from north to south. At its northern end it is part of the West End of Adelaide, a thriving cultural and ...

. In 2015, Adelaide's Riverbank Precinct was transformed for the first time into a hawker-style market with Asian food, themed bars, roving entertainers, and free performances every night of the festival. The Adelaide Night Noodle Markets featured for the first time in 2015 at the Adelaide Festival Centre Precinct as part of OzAsia Festival, featuring a variety of foods from 11 food stalls. It was the first time the Night Noodle Markets ran in

, following successes in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In 2016, OzAsia Festival presented a special outdoor live music concert series in the riverbank precinct's

Elder Park Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace. It is part of Park 26 of t ...

to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. The free event ran for ten days and featured top international performers from across Asia. In 2017, the team behind

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

's "Gluttony" venue hub created and presented The Lucky Dumpling Market for the 2017 OzAsia Festival, which was located on the Adelaide Riverbank Lawns beside the Riverbank Footbridge. The Lucky Dumpling Market showcased authentic Asian cuisine, market stalls, premium wines and beers, and played host to local and international musicians. For the first time in 2018, OzAsia Festival hosted the South-Asian institution

Jaipur Literature Festival The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), often hailed as the "''greatest literary show on Earth''," is a renowned annual cultural and literary festival held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Established in 2006 by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dalry ...

, the world's largest free literary festival. In 2021, OzAsia Festival hosted "In Other Words", an in-person event that shifted to a predominantly digital focus due to COVID-19 restrictions. In 2022 OzAsia Festival celebrated its 15th year with more than 175,000 attendances across ticketed and free events. This year's program, under the artistic direction of

, featured more than 500 community, national and international artists from eight countries, and included 10 world premieres, one Australian premiere and seven Adelaide premieres. In 2024, there were 220,000 attendees at the festival. According to outgoing Adelaide Festival Centre CEO, OzAsia is "the premier Asian Australian cultural engagement event in the country".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{Adelaide Festivals Arts festivals in Australia Festivals established in 2007 Festivals in Adelaide 2007 establishments in Australia Annual events in Australia Spring (season) in Australia