ASEM Cultural Festival 2018 | Europe meets Asia, Asia meets Europe

From 18 – 30 October 2018, ASEM Cultural Festival will take place in Brussels, Belgium as the official side-event of the 12th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 12). As a leading European house for culture driven by an ambitious international mission, the Centre for Fine Arts-Brussels (BOZAR) warmly welcomes the first edition of ASEM Fest. Through its commitment to artistic excellence and a constant need to adapt itself to an ever-changing world, this European house for culture engages with the 21st century by opening up new critical imaginaries, building bridges between communities through permanent intercultural exchanges and debates, offering new perspectives that challenge existing narratives.

ASEM Fest was developed in the context of ASEF’s Policy Panel at the 8th ASEM Culture Ministers’ Meeting in February 2018, which highlighted the importance of people-to-people exchanges for impactful cultural diplomacy. As ASEF Executive Director Ambassador Karsten WARNECKE observes, “Connections between Asia and Europe have been fueled by political and economic priorities over the last decades, but cultural dialogue has reinforced this alliance for centuries. Through the showcase of cultural diversity from the two regions, the ASEM Cultural Festival celebrates this long-standing bi-regional connection.”

The ASEM Cultural Festival titled ‘Europe meets Asia, Asia meets Europe’ will highlight two crucial themes: digital creativity and cultural heritage. The Festival will show that intercultural exchange, vision and creativity of artists can broaden our perspective on the past and the future.

The two-week Festival will offer a diverse range of programming from Asia & Europe including performances, exhibitions and conversations. An opening event featuring a specially commissioned digital and music performance under the artistic direction of renowned Belgian visual artist, Honoré d’O will be held on 18 October. A public forum on 22 October will bring together two leading architects from Asia & Europe for a conversation on the topic of architecture and heritage. Over two weeks, an eclectic mix of music, dance and theatre performances, visual and photography exhibitions and film screenings will be presented.

EVENTS CALENDAR

	OPENING EVENT
	Singing Masks	Honoré d’O, SunSunSun String Orchestra, Nadlada Thamtanakom, (soprano) Liu Fang (pipa) (Belgium)	18 October 2018 Horta Hall

EXHIBITIONS
A Path to Peace	Lee Lee-Nam (Korea)	18 October - 18 November Horta Hall

China and Europe Story: City, People and Culture	Hui Zhao (China)	18 - 30 October Dégagement Henry Le Boeuf

*Rostros-Mukha-Faces at a Crossroad*	Miguel Ángel Belinchón - Bujjes (a.k.a. Belin) (Spain) Wesley Valenzuela (Philippines)	18 - 30 October Ravenstein Gallery

	FORUM
	A Conversation with Paul Robbrecht and Wang Shu	Wang Shu (China) Paul Robbrecht (Belgium)	22 October Hall M

CONCERTS (LES SALONS DE MUSIQUE)
P.I. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninoff, traditional Mongolian songs	Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar & Darima Linkhovoin (Mongolia)	19 October Salon Europa

1. P.I. Tchaikovsky Children’s Album & 2. P.I. Tchaikovsky The Seasons, cycle of 12 plays / Piano	Svetlana Berezhnaya (Russian Federation)	21 October Salon Europa

European and Filipino popular music / Vocals	Katchry Jewel Golbin, Michael Lao Cu & Miguel Nicolas “Mikko” Lee Pablo (Philippines)	23 October Salon Europa

Traditional Pakistani and Kazakh music	Erlan Ryskali (Kazakhstan) Arnaud Eurin (France) Carlo Strazzante (Belgium)	24 October Salon Europa

PERFORMING ARTS
Kijote Kathakali	Margi Kathakali Company (India, Spain)	20 October Hall M

*Meet the Millennials: Connecting a Creative Generation in East and West*	Lucas De Man (The Netherlands, Belgium)	25 October Studio

I am a Demon	Pichet Klunchun (Thailand)	29 October Studio

	LITERATURE
	Interview: Benoît Peeters	Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Belgium)	23 October Studio

FILM SCREENING
Senses	Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan)	22 - 28 October Studio

Takara, La Nuit Où J’ai Nagé	Damien Manivel (France) Kohei Igarashi (Japan)	28 October Studio

*Moriyama-san*	Ila Bëka & Louise Lemoin (France)	28 October Studio

*Kaili Blues*	Bi Gan (China)	30 October Studio