The 16-day curated festival features over 100 artists from across Australia, China, India, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand in 19 events of contemporary independent dance, theatre, live art, music, visual arts, video and cross-cultural collaborations, Saturday 1 until Saturday 15 December 2018.
The 6th annual festival showcases the best independent contemporary artists exploring the themes of Asia and identity. This extraordinary program of events celebrates the synergies that exist between all people.
”Mapping Melbourne offers a rare insight into the contemporary art scene in Asia, bringing together collaborations and connections between Asian and Australian artists. Here, at this festival, we are able to witness an extraordinary showcase of bold, innovative and daring new work,” says Veronica Pardo, Chief Executive Officer, Multicultural Arts Victoria.
Mapping Melbourne will launch at the MPavilion on Friday 30 November, 6.00-9.00pm with live performances, installations and interactions.
The full program can be seen here, http://multiculturalarts.com.au/event/mapping-melbourne-2018/ Highlights include:
Street Connection is a live exhibition and work shop featuring Thai street artist, Mue Bon. He is a Thai artist at the forefront of the Asian street art scene with his unmistakable characters appearing on local road sides and shutters, to gallery walls and Art fairs worldwide.
Dumpling Boy Temple is a pseudo-shaman space on steroids where the kitsch-o-meter set to full on. Dumpling Boy Temple is an art installation space which provides a unique, kitsch shamanistic experience. The temple space will take inspiration from shamanism cultures in contemporary Asia, with a mix of traditions and symbols combined with manufactured objects.
MURTI, (‘moor-thee’) is a communal participatory installation about worship and ritual in our age. A Sanskrit term, ‘murti’ is an embodied icon of the Divine. Reflecting on the ancient Hindu ritual of bathing stone idols in water and milk, MURTI invites people to pour vibrant paint upon a large-scale sculpture that reimagines the most revered and abstracted Hindu icon – the Lingam. All audience members will have opportunities to pour paint upon the idol throughout the opening night.
The Embodied Landscape
From a remote and ancient land steeped in both aboriginal and colonial artefacts we enhance the visibility of our first nation footprint with a remote regional initiative. Two ancient cultures meet and collaborate through dance: Sampang Agung Centre for Performaing Arts (SACPA) from Pelem, East Java and Wotjobaluk dancers from the Wimmera. An exhibition of photographs, film and a performance based in a remote regional town, Rainbow.
im/modesty
Shoeb Ahmad brings a swirl of dream pop and storytelling. A staple of the Canberra underground music scene, Shoeb proudly identifies as a person of Bangladeshi heritage and a transgender woman. Her music is known for exploring deeply personal experiences and vulnerabilities, in an evocative mix of acoustic and electronic indie pop.
Her latest project im/modesty will premiere as a live performance work with contemporary music ensemble, Australian Art Orchestra. Originally developed as a multi-speaker installation during a residency in Kerala, Southern India, this work is inspired by the cultural barriers people from the Indian subcontinent face when exploring their sexuality.
The Sounds of Shadows; Sugar Coated
This farm-to-table narrative will impart some food for thought. Juxtaposing the joy and the destruction that food can bring, this immersive concert celebrates endangered Indonesian instruments whose primary function is centered around food production.
Featuring Bundengan (duck herder’s rain shield and zither) from Java, Rantok (polyrhythmic rice pounding), and Gule Gending (fairy floss street vendor’s steal pans) from Lombok, with the Sindhen vocals (Javanese Court style) of internationally acclaimed Peni Candrarini with piano and gamelan. This major work is further magnified by the digitally enhanced idiosyncratic shadow puppetry of Mosman Art Prize winner Jumaadi.
#Perempuan
In collaboration with Project 11 and curated by Santy Saptari, #Perempuan (or woman), is a group exhibition featuring works by emerging Indonesian artists that explores current issues affecting women in Indonesia, including their visibility in public and their sociocultural role.
Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) is a not for profit organisation that has evolved over four decades into one of Australia’s most important bodies for development and promotion of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) contemporary art, heritage and cultural expression. Over 1 million participants each year are engaged in MAV’s innovative, educational and culturally rich program.
MAV also provides crucial advice and significant initiatives for career development and creative capacity building for artists and communities from established and emerging backgrounds. The organisation can provide expertise in audience development, community engagement, and artistic excellence in CALD communities.
Mapping Melbourne 2018, Saturday 1 until Saturday 15 December 2018. Various locations across Melbourne. Free and Ticketed events. www.multiculturalarts.com.au
