Join us for a celebration of East and South East Asian arts and culture, spanning performances, music, poetry, literature, art and a pop-up market. 17 - 20 July.
Thursday 17 July
On Thursday 17 July, a new adaptation of the Chinese folk story Ye Xian will be performed in the Purcell Room - Ye Xian - A Story Untold. Combining contemporary music with Chinese and Western instruments, composer Alex Ho presents an intimate reflection on Ye Xian’s journey between and beyond different cultures.
Friday 18 July
On Friday 18 July, the visionary Chinese artist Tianzhuo Chen with his Asian Dope Boys collective will present TRANCE - a 12-hour theatre-rave intertwining dance, performance, music, visual art and pop culture. Drop in to experience some or all of this exciting event.
Saturday 19 July
On Saturday 19 July, the Japanese music icon Haroumi Hosono will perform a headline show in the Royal Festival Hall. Haroumi Hosono will perform an eclectic set of compositions across his five-decade career, with support from electronic and Cuban music band CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN.
ESEA Lit Fest will curate a day of literary discussions in the Purcell Room on Saturday 19 July, in association with ESEA Lit Fest. The writer Elaine Castillo and video game producer John Lau will speak to journalist Rebecca Liu about the future of love in an age of disconnection in Love in the Time of Tech. Turner Prize-shortlisted artist Pio Abad and novelist Susan Barker will discuss political histories and the spectral in Seeing Ghosts. Additionally, the novelist Tash Aw and poet Will Harris will speak about family, the masculine and fragmentation in Epic Intimacies. Additionally, in the St Paul’s Pavilion, the poets Troy Cabida, Nina Mingya Powles and Natalie Linh Bolderston will share their own poems alongside poetry from Southeast Asia that has inspired them in Language and Lineage: Poetry Sharing.
Also on Saturday 19 July, in the Clore Ballroom, Ura Matsuri 2025 will celebrate the diverse heritage of the East and Southeast Asian diaspora in the UK. Now in its ninth year and free to attend, resident hostess Japanny-A-Granny will serve up a wide range of delights from pop music headlined by Franks Chickens, dance, Benshi (live film storytelling), classical music on traditional instruments, Chindon Street performance and more. Ura Matsuri will also present Daylight Ninjas on the Riverside Terrace in the afternoon - a family celebration of East and Southeast Asian culture.
Across the weekend from Saturday 19 - Sunday 20 July, a pop-up Yokimono Japanese Summer Market will take place in the Royal Festival Hall foyers. Traditional and contemporary Japanese food, culture, arts and crafts will be displayed across the weekend, from vintage kimono, clothing, ceramics, illustrations, books, as well as a variety of delicious Japanese treats, including onigiri rice balls, wagashi, mochi and matcha.
Sunday 19 July
Finally, on Sunday 20 July, the music collective en Rapport will present two audio-visual projects, under the title You to We, that probe the connections between the seen and unseen, heard and unheard. Part 1 - Ayatori & Lotus Code - will explore the themes of being, identity, environment, aloneness and connectivity with a complex layering of captivating visual imagery and evocative live music and sound, created by photographer Yuriko Takagi and musician Ed Jones. Part 2 - No One’s an Island - will be led by award-winning jazz artists Kit Downes and Thomas Morgan as they explore the uniquely refined sound of Emi Makabe’s shamisen and vocals, set in a richly nuanced melding of contemporary jazz and Japanese folk music.
Hayward Gallery
Don't miss Yoshitomo Nara at the Hayward Gallery, which is running throughout the ESEA Encounters series (Tuesday 10 June - Sunday 31 August). Dive into the captivating, creative world of Yoshitomo Nara in the largest European retrospective of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists.
Book your tickets for ESEA Encounters today!
Also check out other Arts events in London, Literary Art events in London, Music events in London.
