What should an arts festival for the future look like?
As a critique of existing festivals that often emphasise productions and audiences, and are framed from a Western perspective, Southernmost proposes a festival format that is process-driven, artist-centric and Asia-based. Audiences are invited to immerse themselves in a week of artistic experimentation and dialogue across art forms, cultures, time and space, as part of an ongoing exploration of how the arts festival model can be a platform for cultural exchange and artistic creation.
Through examining the relevance of the traditional to the contemporary, and drawing on the process of critique and self-critique, Southernmost is an attempt to develop a long-term vision for how exchange and change can happen.
Southernmost aims to expand the experience of artists, cultural workers and audiences to create a new festival experience that is inclusive, immersive and critical and in turn, to inspire change in society through art. Festival Programmes include: Open Forum, Dialogue sessions, Open Rehearsals, Physical Masterclasses, Screenings, Masters Showcases and culminates in a production at the end of the exchange.
What’s Next?
With the conclusion of Southernmost 2019, we have reached the end of a development phase. In the next phase, we will focus on mounting inter-cultural explorations over the last three years into a new performing series- the Future Asia Project.