Local News: Celebrating Asian arts

By Jacklyn Yeong

In the first 16 days of December and in 14 venues, “Mapping Melbourne” will be serving as a platform for over 100 established and emerging artists from Australia and Asia.

The sixth annual independent contemporary arts festival will be showcasing Asia’s vibrant themes through a range of contemporary artistic mediums.

Participating artists from countries such as Australia, China, India, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will be celebrating the unique Asian-Australian identity that forms part of Melbourne’s multicultural arts community.

Multicultural Arts Victoria CEO Veronica Pardo introduced the festival as a presentation of the best independent contemporary artists exploring the themes of Asia and identity.

“Mapping Melbourne offers a rare insight into the contemporary art scene in Asia, bringing together collaborations and connections between Asian and Australian artists,” she said.

What’s on:

Testing Grounds will host events from the highly recommended #Perempuan – a collaboration with Project 11 and curated by Santy Saptari including Dumpling Boy Temple, MURTI and The Embodied Landscape.

#Perempuan, or woman, is a group exhibition from December 6-14 featuring works by emerging Indonesian artists that explores the current issues such as visibility in public and sociocultural roles that are affecting women in Indonesia.

Dumpling Boy Temple is an art installation space with an accessible and family-friendly temple space incorporating a mix of traditions and symbols combined with manufactured objects.

Visual and performance artist Devika Bilimoria will invite audiences to an experimential interpretation of consecration through her reflection of an ancient ritual with MURTI.

The Embodied Landscape features an exhibition of photographs, film and a performance based in the remote town Rainbow. Two ancient cultures represented by Sampang Agung Centre for Performing Arts (SACPA) from Pelem, East Java and Wotjobaluk dancers from the Wimmera will meet and collaborate through dance.

Shoeb Ahmad’s live performance with contemporary music ensemble Australian Art Orchestra will take place on December 9 at the Fairfax foyer. Her latest project im/modesty delves into the deeply personal experiences and vulnerabilities as a proud transgender and Bangladeshi woman.

Luqmanul Chakim and Sugar Coated will be juxtaposing the joy and destruction that food can bring in The Sound of Shadows: Sugar Coated. The concert celebrates endangered Indonesian instruments in a farm-to-table narrative at the Melbourne Recital Centre on December 14.