Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival has been awarded a Creative Australia Asia Pacific Arts Award at the inaugural ceremony in Sydney on Tuesday 23 April, hosted at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta.

Noriko Tadano: Lucky Dumpling Market at OzAsia Festival 2021. Photo © Xplorer Studio

Celebrating cultural exchanges and collaborative partnerships in the Asia Pacific region, the award recipients were chosen by a panel of Industry Advisors and presented by the Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, at Sydney’s Riverside Theatres.

With a prize pool of $125,000 across five categories, the Asia Pacific Arts Awards recognise the work of Australian artists, organisations and groups connecting with the Asia Pacific, and promoting continued engagement with the region.

OzAsia Festival was recognised in the Connect category for delivering an intersectional program to diverse audiences in Australia.

Held annually over three weeks in spring, OzAsia Festival showcases theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literature, food and cultural events from across Asia, often in boundary-pushing ways.

Oz Asia Artistic Director Joon-Yee Kwok at Adelaide Festival Centre. Picture © Naomi Jellicoe

In 2024, OzAsia Festival welcomes a new Artistic Director in Joon-Yee Kwok. Former Artistic Director Annette Shun Wah (2020–2023) stays on as a Programming Advisor.

Kwok comes to the role having initiated Brisbane City Council’s BrisAsia Festival and is the founder and convener of the Australian Bureau of Asian Creatives, a network supporting and celebrating the work of Asian Australian artists.