Events

The 2026 Extraordinary Asian Arts Festival will return to Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre with renewed brilliance. Centred on the core theme Extraordinary, Between You and Me, the festival invites contemporary voices from across Asia to share their cultural experiences and personal reflections as Asians in the modern world.

This year’s festival will bring together artists from countries and regions such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Iran, and Bangladesh. Through a diverse array of artistic expressions – including painting, photography, music, dance, theatre, installation, and video art – the festival will highlight the richness of Asian cultural narratives and contemporary perspectives. It will place strong emphasis on individual voices, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and pressing social issues. Audiences will witness not merely cultural showcases, but bold and liberated expressions – stories of growth, identity, and reimagined notions of home.

Here, extraordinary is no longer a label – it is a deeply felt presence. The festival will also continue to foster public engagement through community collaborations, workshops, and youth-led creative initiatives, encouraging more young Asian voices to step into the spotlight and make art a language of expression and connection with the world.