Asia TOPA (Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts) is celebrating the global success of the 2025 festival’s commissioned works with 14 shows now touring 17 cities across Australia, Asia and the world. For one night only on 19 November 2025 Asia TOPA’s artist showcase series Asia TOPA Radar will return to Naarm/Melbourne with an event featuring some of the most exciting Asia-Pacific artists at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Asia TOPA Creative Director Jeff Khan said he was proud to see the festival’s reach grow and impact new audiences globally.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see these works, which saw the beginning of their performance life at Asia TOPA 2025, now connecting with so many different audiences across the world. This speaks to the power of art to transcend borders and build meaningful relationships.”
Asia TOPA’s commissioned works have found new life on stages across the globe, showcasing the festival’s commitment to fostering international artistic exchange and collaboration. William Yang’s “triumph” (Australian Arts Review), Milestone, which captivated audiences at Asia TOPA 2025’s opening night, has since toured to Brisbane Festival and will present at OzAsia Festival in Adelaide later this month, followed by Seoul Performing Arts Festival in South Korea.
The “subtle, beautiful, and brilliant all at once” (Limelight) collaboration between the Australian Art Orchestra and Papua New Guinea’s Tatana Village Choir, Ane Ta Abia, will make an unforgettable return performance in Port Moresby in November this year.
Chunky Move’s “futuristic epic” (ArtsHub), U>N>I>T>E>D, which premiered at Asia TOPA 2025, has since toured to the Biennale Danza 19th International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Italy and Singapore’s The Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay, with future stops at Taipei Performing Arts Center in Taiwan and Hong Kong’s FreeSpace Dance planned for November.
In May, Sensing Dark Matter, an innovative VR experience described as “a heck of a trip” (The Age), toured to SPRING Festival in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Taiwan’s Taipei Arts Festival and LoopLab Busan in Korea.
In December, Serendipity Arts Festival will transform Panjim, Goa in India with Asia TOPA Club 8 artist Cloudy Ku participating in an arts festival exchange. The festival’s curators, Thukral and Tagra also experienced the premiere of U>N>I>T>E>D at Asia TOPA and have commissioned a site responsive durational reworking of Chunky Move’s You, Beauty.
In continuing with the festival’s legacy of collaboration, Asia TOPA’s next event in Melbourne will feature a night showcasing Asia Pacific artists’ ideas, performances and new music. The night will include award-winning choreographer and dancer Amrita Hepi, as well as 乒乒乓乓 pin-pin-piàng-piàng curators Cloudy Ku and Harrison Hall, alongside Australian Art Orchestra Artistic Director Aaron Choulai, fresh from his Port Moresby performance of Ane Ta Abia with the Tatana Village Choir.
“After a massive Asia TOPA festival earlier this year, I’m super excited to share a fresh selection of artists and creative stories,” says Khan. “Radar is a place to connect with community and hear directly from leading Asia Pacific artists about what they’re making, how they’re working and what’s inspiring them. It’s like a party meets an artist talk, and everyone’s invited,” said Khan.
Asia TOPA Radar will be at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Leaper Family Pavilion 19 November. Tickets are on sale now. Book here.
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