The Asia-Europe Cultural Festival is a public arts festival that celebrates the artistic diversity of Asia and Europe and promotes dialogue and exchange amongst artists from the two regions. Presented by ASEF Culture Department, the Festival offers a diverse range of programmes including performances, exhibitions and roundtables, showcasing the best of traditional and contemporary art forms and practices. In the last six years, the Festival has served as a testament to the rich tapestry of cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe, fostering artistic collaborations and igniting connections between two continents known for their diversity and creativity.
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Started off as the official side-event of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2018 for the 12th ASEM Summit (Brussels, Belgium), the concept of the Festival was welcomed by the Heads of State and Governments from Asia and Europe to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue among ASEM partners, including the mobility of artists and culture professionals, through exchanges and peer-to-peer learning. After the success of its first edition, the then ASEM Cultural Festival became an annual event. In 2019 it was presented in Madrid, Spain, alongside the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In 2020 the Festival took a hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed in a hybrid format in 2021 with events held online, in Brussels (Belgium) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia).
Since 2022, the event has become a stand-alone project adopting its current name of Asia-Europe Cultural Festival. Being a travelling festival held alternatively in Asia or Europe, the event is able to impact each city or host country by protecting local cultural traditions, developing tourism and promoting the economic, social and cultural developments of the destination country.
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With newer trends in programming in recent years, ASEF regularly reviews the Festival format by putting into practice different models and approaches, thanks to partnerships with independent and public arts organisations in Asia and Europe. Moreover, since 2023, the festival has been directly supporting artists through a new arts residency programme. Besides providing opportunities for capacity building and knowledge exchange, the residencies have been a mechanism for artists to travel and co-create artistic performances that are showcased at the Festival.
Overall, over the last six years, the Festival has transformed from purely showcasing to also supporting the production of new collaborations. The Festival offers a fully curated cultural event that highlights the importance of artistic collaboration and cultural diversity with online and onsite activities throughout the year. The Asia-Europe Cultural Festival plays an important role as a platform for cultural diplomacy, raising awareness about different cultures, enabling international exchanges and providing forums for dialogue between Asian and European arts communities.
DISCOVER THE PAST EDITIONS
 | 2024 Jun - Sep Italy and Singapore |  | 2023 22 Oct - 1 Nov Singapore |
 | 2022 26 & 27 November Belgium |  | 2021 15 & 22 November Belgium 22 – 26 November Cambodia |
 | 2019 6 December Belgium 11 – 15 December Spain |  | 2018 18 – 30 October Belgium |
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