The 2024 edition of the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival will be held for the first time in Italy at the beginning of September. The 6th Edition will be organised in partnership with Oriente Occidente Dance Festival, with the support of the European Union.
Oriente Occidente, founded in 1981 in Rovereto (Italy) is an open cultural institution, which believes in the practice and culture of dialogue, a cultural institution that has been bridging people for over 40 years through various artistic practices. Oriente and Occidente (East and West) are poles of an ideal path of exchanges and intersections not only between cultures, but between languages of the contemporary scene as well. Its main activity is the Oriente Occidente Dance Festival, a well-established reality that represents one of the most important Italian multidisciplinary festivals known all over Europe. Based in Rovereto, in Northen Italy, its mission is to overcome boundaries by bringing influences of the Eastern artistic tradition with Western experimentation. The partnership between ASEF and Oriente Occidente reflected a mutual alignment of cultural and artistic values to inspire dialogue and forge connections that transcend geographical boundaries. Albeit being a small town with nearly 33,000 residents, Rovereto offered a dynamic and rich number world-known cultural institutions and events. The cultural richness of the local area has allowed ASEF to collaborate with prominent venues like Mart Museum in Rovereto and MUSE Museum in Trento.
A significant milestone of the Festival’s 6th edition was the introduction of a new art residency programme. In 2023, ASEF Culture successfully piloted a residency for the artists of X, a multidisciplinary performance that was showcased in last year’s edition. As ASEF constantly advocates for cross-cultural collaborations and knowledge exchange, implementing residency programmes is essential in providing time, space and resources for Asian and European artists to research and develop new artistic projects.
The partnership with Oriente Occidente will allow the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival to gain visibility in the international cultural sector, as well as connecting with the local community and reaching a wide range of audiences.
Through a diverse programme of dance, film, installations, video art, and music, the festival will invite the audience to embark on a journey that explores the immense artistic talents from the Philippines, Singapore, Germany, Belgium, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Italy, UK, India, amongst others.
Together with Oriente Occidente, the 6th Edition of the festival will celebrate the vibrant tapestry of human creativity, inspire dialogue, and forge connections that transcend borders. The Curtain Raiser and Closing Curtain will be organised respectively in June and September 2024 in Singapore.
Since 2018, the Asia-Europe Cultural Festival has showcased the rich tapestry of cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe, celebrating artistic collaborations, fostering dialogue, and igniting connections between two continents known for their diversity and creativity. In a world where boundaries continue to exist despite technological advancements, the Festival emerges as a beacon of artistic unity, transcending geographies and language barriers to bring Asia and Europe closer.
The 2024 Asia-Europe Cultural Festival is organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), co-funded by the European Union with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, in partnership with Oriente Occidente, Dance Nucleus and Asian Film Archive.