The Substation/ Asia TOPA Radar/
Wheelchair accessible
$15 Standard
$10 Concession
$5 Asia TOPA Fair Pricing
$5 Mob Tix
PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION AND ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE
Spark your curiosity at Asia TOPA Radar. Peek behind the studio door and see what’s inspiring our artists right now. From playlists to performances, exhibitions, books and internet deep dives, Asia TOPA Radar brings together artists from across the Asia-Pacific for an evening of creativity, community and good times.
This event at The Substation peeks behind the work of three leading artists and collectives: Queer Indigenous collective FAFSWAG (Aotearoa), Melbourne artists Mindy Meng Wang & Monica Lim, and dance artist and producer Efren Pamilacan.
Come along to The Substation for the artist sharing before the event turns into a party with tunes by DJ Aqueerius.
This edition of Asia TOPA Radar is specially curated to coincide with FAFSWAG’s exhibition Alteration, which will be on display during the event. This exhibition is presented by The Substation in collaboration with Midsumma and PHOTO Australia as part of Queer PHOTO.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
FAFSWAG was established in 2013 as an informal Queer art collective from south Auckland. Responding to the lack of representation within the creative industries, the collective has come to redefine what it means to occupy a fluid sexuality & gender spectrum, a multi-cultural identity and a growing interdisciplinary practice.
As a collective of artists and activists FAFSWAG is committed to social change through arts and innovation, producing bespoke cultural activations that are cutting edge, culturally responsive and socially relevant. Operating across a multitude of interdisciplinary art forms and genres, FAFSWAG artists work collaboratively to activate public and digital space, speaking to its contexts as Queer Indigenous arts practitioners.
Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim are artists who merge traditional and contemporary sound practices.
Mindy is recognised for pioneering guzheng performance in non-traditional genres such as experimental, jazz, western classical, electronic and improvisation and has won multiple national and international awards such as the Australian Asian Leadership Award 2023, the 2022 Sidney Myer Fellowship and ‘Best Musician’ Music Victoria Awards. She was the 2023 Melbourne Recital Centre Artist in Residence – the first to play a non-western instrument.
Monica is a classically-trained pianist and composer who works in cross-disciplinary forms combining cutting-edge technologies in fields as diverse as computer vision, gaming engines and movement computing with sound. Teaching and researching at the University of Melbourne, Monica is the recipient of multiple scholarships and awards and was recently artist in residence at the Grainger Museum and the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio.
With Chinese and Malaysian-Chinese diaspora heritage, both Mindy and Monica are recognised as cultural leaders in the sector and have worked extensively in collaborative art-making and research to establish deeper and reciprocal musical connections between Australia and Asia. Friends for more than 10 years, Mindy and Monica have recently collaborated on a number of projects including Guài, an immersive installation combining digital avatars, Chinese literary classics and artificial intelligence as well as performances with guzheng, movement sensors and electronics.
Efren Pamilacan is a dance artist and independent producer of Filipino ancestry, a settler on the unceded lands of the Kulin nation. His work crosses cultural and social spheres intersecting between hip-hop culture, underground dance forms and the contemporary arts sector; and aims to create space for new dance communities to thrive. As a dancer and dance maker, Efren is a member of the Jigsaw Sneakers collective and founder of City Sessions street dance battle. As a cultural leader, Efren supports independent artists and collectives as the artistic director of Cypher Culture - a cultural arts organisation empowering street dance and its communities.
Aqueerius is a DJ, contemporary arts producer and curator who captivates on the DJ decks with a dauntlessly creative energy. His eclectic sound weaves together sonic constellations of percussive techno, garage and hard drum to ambient, nu disco, deep house and spicy nods to his heritage.
ABOUT ASIA TOPA
Asia TOPA offers a glimpse into world-leading creativity, cultural innovation and new ideas.
A site for celebration and exchange, Asia TOPA centres Asia Pacific artists and their ideas. Creating new connections between artists, audiences and communities, Asia TOPA delivers the triennial Asia TOPA Festival, year-round Creative Developments and public offerings.
Asia TOPA brings the most exciting developments in Asia Pacific arts and culture to Melbourne, championing a multiplicity of perspectives, cultures and creative expression.
WARNINGS
This event is suitable for all ages. Persons under 18 years must be accompanied by an adult.
This event will be photographed. Please alert a member of our Front of House staff if you do not wish to be photographed.
ACCESS
This event is wheelchair accessible and gender neutral accessible toilets are available.
Asia TOPA Radar is co-presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and The Substation.
This event is sponsored by Hop Nation Brewing Co.
Related/
Substation Program/
Free
Queer PHOTO: Alteration
PRESENTED BY THE SUBSTATION
Meeting at the intersections of cultural archival practices, digital technology and queer Indigenous storytelling, Alteration presents a glimpse into the shapeshifting practice of FAFSWAG, an Aotearoa-based queer Polynesian arts collective.
Compiling a decade of artistic output, with two years of co-design, co-curation, research and production, this show presents a mixed media archival exhibition of significant works from the collective from 2013 to now.
Contemplating ancestry and legacy, reclaiming stolen narratives, speculating fictional futures, and redefining the cultural image of queer Pacific bodies living on stolen land, Alteration seeks to break down predictable, fixed colonial narratives.
Alteration is FAFSWAG’s landmark Australian show created by Jermaine Dean, Falencie Filipo, Tanu Gago, Tapuaki Helu, Elyssia Wilson Heti, Nahora Ioane, Hōhua Ropate Kurene, Moe Laga-Toleafoa, Ilalia Loau, Tim Swann, Pati Solomona Tyrell and James Waititi. Curated collaboratively by FAFSWAG members Tanu Gago, Elyssia Wilson-Heti, Pati Tyrell and James Waititi with The Substation team, Nuala Furtado and Shae Rooke.
Selected works from FAFSWAG's 'Alteration' are on display at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Artworks are located across the Riverside Lawn, Myrtle Cafe, Lawn River & Pier and the Weaving Sustainable Futures garden.
PURCHASE A LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Limited edition prints of select works featured in 'Alteration' are available to purchase.
To view available prints and register your interest in purchasing one, fill out the FAFSWAG Artwork Sales EOI Form, and our team will be in touch.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Please be aware this exhibition has low lighting.
ACCESS
This exhibition is wheelchair accessible and gender neutral accessible toilets are available.
