FESTIVALS
The annual International Arts Carnival offers performing arts programmes and educational arts activities for children, young people and their families in the form of puppet musical theatre, dance, magic, clown performances, physical theatre, multi-media theatre, interactive theatre for babies, and children’s films.
The 2016 carnival opened with the puppet musical The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by the award-winning Theater Hikosen from Japan. This was followed by visiting performances that included KAPUT by Tom Flanagan from Australia, Spot by Theater Terra from The Netherlands, The All-American Boys Chorus, Hup by Starcatchers from the United Kingdom, Drum Call by Ju Percussion Group 2 from Taiwan, ROBOT by Blanca Li Dance Company from France, and Magicrobatics, showcasing magicians from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Four local arts groups were engaged to create new works for children and teenagers. The programmes included The Spacean Odyssey by Fong Fong Projet d’Art, Romeo & Juliet with Red Noses by POP Theatre, Legend of the Sky: Ki Ki & the Eternal Flame by Theatre Ronin, and The Adventures of Siu2Fei1 by Shu Ning Presentation Unit. Educational activities were also organised that included workshops, cultural tours, school events and outreach performances.
A total of 13 visiting and 16 local arts groups and artists participated in 330 carnival events, attracting audiences of around 95 000. The average attendance was 86 per cent of capacity for ticketed events.
The biennial New Vision Arts Festival is a showcase for cutting-edge productions with an Asian focus, but which transcend individual cultures and disciplines.
The 2016 festival opened with Matsukaze by Sasha Waltz & Guests from Germany, a dream-like opera based on a Japanese Noh Theatre classic weaving with dance. Another critically acclaimed dance production, Until the Lions by Akram Khan Company from the United Kingdom, closed the festival to a standing ovation. The production was co-produced by the festival together with international presenters.
Other highlights included a sonic and visual work superposition by Ryoji Ikeda from Japan, a cine-concert titled King of Ghosts by Soumik Datta from the United Kingdom, Johannes Berauer from Austria and Cormac Byrne from Ireland, and the world première of Prometheus Bound by Li Liuyi Theatre Studio.
On the local front, three collaborative productions were presented: Utopia, momentarily by Susie Au x Vicky Fung x Chow Yiu Fai, A Concise History of Future by Reframe Theatre x FELIXISM CREATION, and One Zero by GayBird x Tsai Ming-liang, all of which attracted full houses.
ArtSnap, a platform showcasing small-scale original experimental works, was expanded into a two-week mini-festival with 12 intimate and participative programmes performed by local and overseas artists. The expanded event was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike.
The month-long New Vision Arts Festival included a total of 17 visiting and 17 local arts groups and artists who presented 140 events, including extension activities such as exhibitions, workshops, talks, meet-the-artist sessions, demonstrations and a scheme for nurturing young critics. The festival attracted an audience of around 70 000 in total, with an average attendance of 73 per cent of capacity for ticketed events.