OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is an Asia-focussed arts festival in South Australia, presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. It features theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts from across Asia as well as outdoor events and food stalls. In some years it has focussed on specific regions or countries in Asia. Since 2017, the festival has included the Lucky Dumpling Market, comprising numerous food stalls set up along the river bank. Since 2018, the event has included JLF Adelaide, an offshoot of the Jaipur Literary Festival.
History
After the Government of South Australia wiped a -million debt from Adelaide's Festival Centre in the 2005–2006 State Budget, the Festival Centre began a five-year financial rebuilding programme. OzAsia Festival resulted from the Government of South Australia and the Adelaide Festival Centre partnering in 2007 to create a new arts festival of national and cultural significance, and was one of several ideas to revive the Adelaide Festival Centre. The inaugural OzAsia Festival was held 21 September – 7 October, 2007, and stood on two key guiding principles: the contribution of Australian artists and performers who identify with an Asian cultural heritage and the constant stream of collaboration between Australia and its regional neighbours. Its program was built on four key pillars: performing arts, visual arts, cultural debate, and community involvement. The first OzAsia Festival program was produced by Executive Director, Nick Skibinski, who was succeeded by Jacinta Thompson as Festival Director the following year. From 2010 – 2015, the festival undertook a country of focus initiative, each year emphasising a particular country to grow stronger cultural ties between Australia and key countries in the region. 2010 it was Korea; 2011, Japan; 2012, India; 2013, Malaysia; and 2014, Thompson's last program, China. In 2015, Joseph Mitchell became the OzAsia Festival Artistic Director. He shifted the program rationale from focussing on a single country each year to instead showcase the best contemporary art and artists from across Asia, including the Middle East. Artists such as Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Ryoji Ikeda, Meng Jinghui, Melati Suryodarmo and Teater Garasi have all presented Australian premieres at the OzAsia Festival. In May 2020Annette Shun Wah was appointed director of the festival, taking over from Joseph Mitchell. With the November 2020 festival being cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, her first full festival will be in 2021.
Events
The Moon Lantern Parade is a free public event and an integral part of OzAsia Festival that celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is an official harvest festival traditionally celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese. The Moon Lantern parade begins after sunset, and is followed by fireworks over the River Torrens. OzAsia films are shown at the Mercury Cinema in Morphett Street. In 2015, Adelaide's Riverbank Precinct was transformed for the first time into a hawker-style market with Asian food, themed bars, roving entertainers and free performances every night of the OzAsia Festival. The Adelaide Night Noodle Markets featured for the first time in 2015 at the Adelaide Festival Centre Precinct as part of OzAsia Festival. For eleven nights, patrons were able to sample Asian cuisine from the variety of Asian food stalls. It was the first time the Night Noodle Markets have run in South Australia, following successes in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. In 2016, OzAsia Festival presented a special outdoor live music concert series in the riverbank precinct's Elder Park to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. The free event ran for ten days and featured top international performers from across Asia. In 2017, the team behind Adelaide Fringe's "Gluttony" venue hub created and presented The Lucky Dumpling Market for the 2017 OzAsia Festival, which was located on the Adelaide Riverbank Lawns beside the Riverbank Footbridge. The Lucky Dumpling Market showcased authentic Asian cuisine, market stalls, premium wines and beers, and played host to local and international musicians. For the first time in 2018, OzAsia Festival hosted the South-Asian institution Jaipur Literature Festival, the world's largest free literary festival. It is intended to be an annual recurrent part of the festival.
