Welcome to Asialink Arts 2016 Year in Review

Welcome to this year’s edition of Asialink Arts Year in Review. Whilst 2016 has been another year of exciting achievements in program and project delivery, it has also been a year of major challenges and change for Asialink Arts. Since our establishment in 1991, much has been achieved and we feel privileged to have played such a pioneering role in developing many initiatives, partnerships and projects to build the Asia-capability of the cultural sector. The development of cultural and creative linkages with Asia has never been more important and it is exciting to see how this has been embraced by so many arts professionals and organisations.

However, over the last 25 years much has changed in the landscape, infrastructure and opportunities for Asia / Australia cultural engagement and it is clear that new approaches and models are required. During the second half of 2016, Asialink Arts underwent a strategic review of its various programs in the context of the changing needs and priorities of our key stakeholders and funders. In 2017 we will be looking to implement some changes to Asialink Arts to better align the organisation with emerging opportunities and new priorities with our partners both Asia and Australia. Watch this space! We are grateful to everyone who shared their insights about our work.

During 2016 we partnered with artists and organisations in Asia and Australia to deliver another diverse range of projects across Asia including four major visual arts projects in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and numerous projects associated with our 29 residents to Asia and six inbound residents from the region. We launched a new Asialink Arts website, delivered a range of publications, public programs and digital resources and saw significant growth across our social media platforms. We received almost 300 applications for the 2017 residency program, a 30% increase from 2016 demonstrating the strong interest from arts professionals for this opportunity to develop their skills and networks in Asia. Asialink Arts is particularly grateful to all the States and Territory Arts Ministries who have continued to support this program.

I would like to extend a big thank you to all our partners and supporters who have made our projects possible and look forward to another big year for Asia / Australia engagement in 2017.