Asialink Arts | Year in Review

Asialink Arts 2015 Year in Review presents a round up of arts activities between Australia and Asia, new ideas, communities and collaborations across the region. You can read about the residencies, touring programme, find partners, watch videos and more ...

'Disruption' in all its guises has certainly been the buzzword of the year - digital, economic, social, and cultural. The arts certainly had its share of disruptions in 2015. Dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity is now the norm for most organisations, but it has always been the lifeblood of the arts - taking risks, exploring unknown territories, creating new platforms for discussion and debate. These endeavours have certainly characterised Asialink Arts' projects in this highly productive year.

Throughout 2015 Asialink Arts' residents explored new ideas, communities and collaborations from East Timor to Turkey. The exhibition touring program exposed contemporary Australian artists to new audiences of almost one million across India, Japan and Turkey. We partnered with Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, M Pavilion, Monash University of Modern Art, Institute of Modern Art, Multicultural Arts Victoria, Creative Victoria, and the Australia Council for the Arts to host various delegations, forums, sector round tables and performances.

Touring & Projects: Asialink Arts operates Australia’s largest and longest running international touring program. The program partners with Asian cultural institutions and major arts events to deliver exhibitions and collaborative projects. The 2015 Exhibition Touring Program focused on India, Turkey and Japan with collaborative exhibitions at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and the Nakanojo Biennale as well as participation in DFAT’s Year of Australia in Turkey.

Residencies: Since 1991 Asialink's Arts Residency Program has provided professional development opportunities for over 800 Australian arts professionals across all art forms, in exchange for the sharing of skills, knowledge and networks with host communities in Asia. In 2015, the program sent a total of 36 individual arts professionals.

Partnerships, Public Programs & Publications: In fulfilling its twin purposes of Asia engagement and capability, Asialink Arts undertakes a range of other projects designed to provide additional creative opportunities, engage Australian and Asian audiences and provide access to information and networks to arts professionals and the general public.

The role of Asialink Arts is to develop opportunities for cultural exchange between Australia and Asia and improve the Asia capability of the cultural sector based on the principles of partnership, collaboration and reciprocity.