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July
George Town Festival (Malaysia)
The George Town Festival is a 10-day celebration of arts, culture and the transformative power of human creativity. Featured events include Convergence from the Hong Kong Dance Company, Shadow Sculptures by Australian artist Gav Barbey, Alle Armi by Italian Hombre Collettivo, They All Die At The End by Theatresauce and more.
19-28 July; learn more.
Suara Festival (Bali, Indonesia)
Bali’s Suara Festival of music, arts and culture will be headlined by Australian pop group Angus & Julia Stone this year. The Festival is presented at Nuanu City, Tabanan, home to the Luna Beach Club and immersive art studio, Labyrinth. The line-up includes contemporary music and also traditional Balinese performances, from stilt walkers and aerialists to maracas and didgeridoo-making workshops.
26-28 July; learn more.
Fuji Rock Festival (Japan)
Held annually at the Naeba Ski Resort, the three-day Fuji Rock Festival features over 200 Japanese and international musicians. It’s the largest outdoor music festival in Japan, with 12 stages and spanning over four kilometres. For film junkies the event also includes screenings on the Fuji Theatre Outdoor Cinema.
26-28 July; learn more.
Read: Exhibition highlights for July – December
September
Gwangju Biennale (South Korea)
For its 30th anniversary, the 15th Gwangju Biennale brings together 72 artists from 30 countries for PANSORI, A Soundscape of the 21st Century. The international biennale considers borders, confinement, social distance, segregation policies and climate change through the lens of visual and musical forms. The 15th Biennale is led by French curator and art critic, Nicolas Bourriaud, and presented across the city of Gwangju, around a two-hour train ride from the capital, Seoul.
7 September to 1 December; learn more.
October
Bangkok Art Biennale (Thailand)
Titled Nurture Gaia, the 2024 Bangkok Art Biennale focuses on the differences between nature and nurture, alongside ideas of femininity, ecopolitics, animism and the supernatural. Works by Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, Prasong Luemuang, Taiki Sakpisit, Jessica Segall and more will be on view, lead by Dr Apinan Poshyananda’s curatorial team. Participating venues include the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) and Museum Siam.
24 October 2024 to 5 February 2025; learn more.
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Indonesia)
The annual Ubud Writers & Readers Festival returns with the first speaker line-up announced, including Australian First Nations poet Ali Cobby Eckermann, Indonesian author Seno Gumira Ajidarma, Vietnamese-born Australian writer Nam Le, Indian author Amitav Ghosh and more. The 2024 Emerging Writers Program will present the stories of 10 Indonesian writers representing various regions of the country.
24-27 October; learn more.
November
Singapore Writers Festival (Singapore)
Singapore Writers Festival is organised by Arts House Limited, which manages six arts spaces and also runs the Singapore International Festival of Arts. The 2023 program brought together writers from the US, China, Australia, Malaysia, the UK and more. Details for 2024 to be announced.
8-17 November; learn more.
Asian Art Biennial (Taiwan)
The Asian Art Biennial launched in 2007, hosted by the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung. The next event’s curators have been announced, including Taiwanese curator and critic Fang Yen-Hsiang, who will lead a curatorial team of Armenian curator Anne Davidian, Manila-based Merv Espina, Singapore-based Haeju Kim and Asli Seven, who works in Paris and Istanbul. The theme and selected artists are yet to be announced.
16 November 2024 to 28 February 2025; learn more.
Clockenflap (Hong Kong)
Clockenflap is a Coachella-style music event and a highlight of Hong Kong’s annual cultural calendar. Last year’s line-up included Arctic Monkeys, Bombay Bicycle Club, Wu-Tang Clan, Julia Wu and Phoenix.
29 November to 1 December; learn more.
George Town Literary Festival (Malaysia)
Awarded the International Excellence Award 2018 for Literary Festival, this literary gem in Malaysia is presented annually in the UNESCO World Heritage site of George Town, Penang. The festival is free and open to the public. Established in 2011, it is also now Malaysia’s largest literary festival.
29 November to 1 December; learn more.
December
Wonderfruit (Thailand)
Described as the ‘Burning Man of Asia’, Wonderfruit is an annual gathering of art, culture, music and nature at The Fields of Siam Country Club outside Pattaya in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Think installations, music, fashion and food set against a picturesque background.
12-16 December; learn more.
