Blind Dates and Foreign Affairs
- Australia/ Asia Arts Residencies

Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 June 2006

Each year Asialink's arts program convenes an annual forum to discuss wider arts and Asia related issues with our national advisory committees, the interested public and international guests. This year's forum concentrated on Arts Residencies in Asia and Australia, with reference to other parts of the world. It evaluated the place of residencies in arts programming generally and their value for individual artists, managers and hosts.

International speakers were Aki Hoashi, Arcus Project, Japan; Kang Min Jay, Treasure Hill, Taiwan and Daravuth Ly, Reyum Institute of Arts and Culture, Cambodia.

Together with speakers from around Australia the panellists discussed:

• Official and alternative residency models
• Geographic and geopolitical contexts for residencies
• The role residents play in reinforcing or rediscovering traditional cultures
• The kinds of projects that have arisen from residencies

Questions addressed: What is the future of residencies in an increasingly mobile - yet potentially insular - world? What other ways can these be relevant, productive and interesting for the arts and wider communities?

Panels were interspersed with performances, readings and video screenings.

Day one of the forum is open to the general public, practitioners, hosts, funders, academics and commentators. Day two is designed for residency hosts to discuss issues of common interest.

Support
Blind Dates & Foreign Affairs is an Asialink project supported by the City of Melbourne, The Age, the Australian Government through the Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body, The University of Melbourne, the Japan Foundation and the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic Cultural Office in Australia.