Speech
Shanghai, 11 November 2002
The Symposium on Art, Technology and the New Performer
Thank you David [David Irvine, Australian Ambassador to China], Chairman, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Dr Zhang (JARNG),President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Professor Rong (WRONG),Party Secretary, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Professor Dai (DIE), President, Centre for the Shanghai International Arts Festival, Mr Chen (CHURN), Assistant Director General, Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, Madam Xia (SHAR), Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir, the Hon Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia,Senator Tsebin Tchen, the Rt Hon Alfred Huang, the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Consul General, Sam Gerovich, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure to be here. I particularly want to welcome Dr John Yu, Chairman of the Australia-China Council and other Council members, as well as representatives from the Flinders University of South Australia.
I should say at the outset how delighted Australia was to be the first country to be invited as guest nation at the prestigious China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Particularly as this year is a very special year: we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China.
This symposium on art, technology and the new performer is one of the highlights of a week-long celebration of Australian culture.
As Australia and China mark the past 30 years of diplomatic ties, today's symposium focuses on the future and on innovation.
The symposium will introduce Chinese performing arts practitioners, academics, critics and students to Australian artists who are integrating live performance and digital technology.
This innovative approach to new technology reflects the fact that
Australia is one of the most wired societies in the world.
Australians all across the country are experiencing the benefits of the on-line economy.
The speed of change in the digital world is unlike anything we have seen before - and our artists working in multi-media are experiencing their own revolution.
Australian artists are thinking in entirely new ways to express themselves in the digital medium.
And this symposium will break new ground by focusing on how the performance artist - so we are talking about real time performance - can use digital technology to enhance his art.
Some of Australia's pre-eminent artists, including performance artist Stelarc, Mary Mooreand photographer and performance artist William Yang, will showcase their talent and technical innovation to an international audience.
They will also work with Chinese leading and emerging artists and academics in a series of forums, workshops and presentations.
The workshops will provide an opportunity for students from the Shanghai Theatre Academy to have direct contact with Australian artists and students in a spirit of genuine intercultural exchange.
This encounter will set the scene for ongoing collaboration between the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Drama Centre at Flinders University in South Australia.
I thank Professor Rong (WRONG) for his hospitality and support.
I particularly want to acknowledge the joint convenors of the Symposium, Professor Julie Holledge of Flinders University of South Australia, and Professor Gu, (GOO) of Shanghai Theatre Academy, for their foresight, dedication and hard work.
I am also grateful to the Australia-China Council, for sponsoring the symposium and for working so very hard over the last few years to promote understanding and foster people-to-people links between our two nations.
Thanks are also due to the NSW Government for supporting William Yang's visit to Shanghai.
I wish you well in the staging of the symposium and in subsequent exchanges between the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Drama Centre at Flinders University in South Australia.
Such creative exchanges and people-to people links will ensure that the next 30 years of Australia-China relations remain as dynamic and fruitful as the last 30 years.
Thank you.
This page last modified: Wednesday, 27-Nov-2002 16:39:22 EST
Local Date: Saturday, 11-Feb-2012 07:41:54 EST
