With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Sydney collaborates with Melbourne Fringe to hold the third edition of the "Fringe Focus Taiwan (聚焦臺灣)," which will take place from Oct. 13 to 15.
Two novel Taiwanese experimental arts programs will be showcased, including "IT-ME TIME Traveller Beta Live x Social Dis Dance (超時空人魚夜總會 x 社會交流電死舞)" by queer artist Betty Apple (鄭宜蘋) and "Machine Folklore (機器民談)" by interdisciplinary new media art teams Software2050 (鳳漢玉) and NAXS FUTURE (涅所未來).
According to the Ministry of Culture, Fringe Focus Taiwan is one of the highlights of the Melbourne Fringe, the largest independent art festival in Victoria, Australia. Since 2020, the Cultural Division of TECO in Sydney has been collaborating with Melbourne Fringe on a project combining different types of new media and cultural experiences.
The 2022 edition will not only present live performances from Taiwan for the first time, but it is also the first time that Taiwanese artists perform in Australia after a hiatus of three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Betty Apple comes from a millennium generation of avant-garde artists in Taiwan. Her art (and music) focuses on using body politics and performativity as her framework and drawing on her lived experience as a millennial living in post-colonial Taiwan. Following the success of her previous work “IT-ME TIME Traveller Beta2021” shown at last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, she has been invited to perform live with Social Dis Dance (社會交流電死舞), an industrial techno band, at the RUNAWAY Festival Park this year.
Based on a fictional sci-fi text of lonely A.I, "Machine Folklore" attempts to respond to the state of human existence from an A.I.'s inhuman perspective through the design of music, video, and lighting, with immersive music and video performances. This performance will be presented at the experimental art venue "The Substation" in Melbourne.
Revolving around the theme of "It's About Time (是時候了)," Melbourne Fringe will present 450 programs to mark its 40th anniversary this year. For more information, please visit Melbourne Fringe’s official website.