Quick five with Creative Director, Jeff Khan

After three years in the making, Asia TOPA is returning to Melbourne in 2025. Jeff’s innovative approach to curation across performance, visual art, dance and new media has fuelled fresh perspectives and carved a new direction for the festival.

Asia TOPA showcases the bold and dynamic creativity of the Asia-Pacific, and under Jeff’s direction, you can expect to see some of the most exciting work coming out of the region. We had five minutes with Jeff to dip into his vision, what to expect from the festival and find out why projects KAGAMI and Home Bound kick-started the unveiling of his massive festival program.

Hi Jeff. Tell us about your vision for Asia TOPA Triennial 2025. 

"I want the triennial to be a joyful, exciting place to encounter some of the most astonishing artists and recent performances from the Asia-Pacific. We’ve built this program over three years and worked really hard to forge new connections between artists and audiences from many different artistic and cultural backgrounds."

With all of the world’s complexities, it’s a perfect time for us to turn to the visions of artists for a new take on what’s possible. They help us to imagine new futures, and new ways to experience the rich, complicated and fascinating time in which we live.

What do we have to look forward to? What is Asia TOPA bringing to Melbourne this summer?

Look forward to a city-wide adventure that will take you through Melbourne’s extraordinary theatres, galleries, public squares, dancefloors and bars. All of these places will be brought to life by brilliant new art and performance from all over the Asia-Pacific. You’ll experience new work that you can’t see anywhere else, world premiere performances and inspiring celebrations of community. You’ll encounter artists from across Asia and the Pacific, some of them bringing their work to Melbourne for the first time, many of them icons of contemporary art.

Often in our program, artists are presenting their biggest and most ambitious works to date. Block out your diary, it’s going to be a big time!

The early-announcement of the festival features an exciting Australian exclusive of KAGAMI — a groundbreaking mixed reality concert celebrating the life and music of Japanese iconic composer and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto. Why is this work so important, and how is it reflective of the new Asia TOPA?

I saw KAGAMI at the Manchester International Festival last year and was blown away. It's such a remarkable work, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, and we’re so excited to be bringing it to Melbourne. It’s a close encounter with the late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, brought to life by a groundbreaking fusion of live performance and virtual reality.

KAGAMI premiered at The Shed (NYC) in 2023 and our season is the only presentation in Australia. It features Sakamoto playing an intimate piano recital of some of his greatest compositions spanning his decorated, decades-long career. It’s a captivating and deeply moving experience. Don’t miss it.

You’ve also announced Home Bound by artists Daniel Kok and Luke George. How do you see this large-scale participatory work engaging and connecting Melbourne’s diverse communities?

Home Bound brings together multiple weaving and crafting communities from across Victoria to create a giant social tapestry on the forecourt of Arts Centre Melbourne. It’s a huge project that has creativity and community connection at its heart. Everyone is invited to take part in the work — either by donating their own fibre and textile materials to become part of the sculpture, taking part in weaving workshops to help create the work itself, or simply witnessing its creation by First Nations, Asia Pacific and diverse weavers as it slowly builds through the festival.

It’s going to be a visually stunning installation that is also a great space to just stop by, hang out, and spend time with some very inspiring communities.

Describe the upcoming Asia TOPA program in 3 words:

Joyful. Energising. Refreshing.

Image by Mia Mala McDonald