- #ReConnect – a
hybrid festival featuring online and offline work by leading British art and
cultural organisations and artists, launched by the British Council.
- Partnering with
over 35 cultural organisations from the UK and China, the Festival offers thought
provoking and stimulating experiences with British arts and culture.
- The Festival
presents the diverse breadth of contemporary UK arts, culture and education to
inspire and connect audiences in China and beyond with British creativity.
- The Festival aims
to strengthen the connection between China and the UK through shared values in
culture and education.
BEIJING, KUNMING,
SHANGHAI, SHENZHEN AND ZHENGZHOU - Media
OutReach - 6 September 2021 - The British Council launched
the 2021 UK-China Contemporary Culture Festival. Titled #ReConnect, this year's edition is
a hybrid festival featuring work by leading British art and cultural
organisations and artists via online and offline platforms, offering audiences
in China an opportunity to reconnect with British art from Scotland, Wales,
Northern Ireland and England. Organised by the British Council, the UK's
international organisation for cultural relations and education opportunities, and
sponsored by the Welsh Government, the festival will present nearly 40 cultural
performances and projects online and offline in multiple cities across China
between 1 and 20 September 2021.
"We are delighted to be a partner of the British
Council, supporting the 2021 UK-China Contemporary Culture Festival to give
people in China an opportunity to experience three wonderful examples of art
and culture from Wales.The theme of the festival, reconnecting, is more
important now than ever – reconnecting with our environment and our
communities, both locally and across borders. I hope our contribution to the
festival will encourage audiences to do just that, building new cultural
connections between our two nations" said Rt Hon Mark Drakeford, First
Minister of Wales.
Focusing on three different themes, the Festival
will encourage audiences to #ReConnect with nature, community and the self
through a variety of exhibitions, talks, panel discussions, film screenings and
performances. #ReConnect with Nature will explore the deep
relationship between humans and nature; #ReConnect
with Community will explore the
connection and consequence of human experience and our community; and #ReConnect with Self will support individuals
to increase empathy and self-awareness.
Highlight projects under #ReConnect with Nature include:
- British visual artist
Celyn Bricker's first solo exhibition in China, titled The Fifth Season.
Bringing together interactive, AI generated artworks, paintings and prototypes,
the exhibition held in Beijing will explore our relationship with nature and
new technology.
- An online talk held in
partnership with the Natural History Museum, -titled Our Broken Planet: How
We Got Here and Ways to Fix It will see young changemakers from the UK and
China debate why and how our relationship with the natural world needs to change.
- Eye of the Storm, a documentary film featuring
Scottish landscape painter James Morrison will be screened in Shanghai,
directed by award-winning director Anthony Baxter.
- Dog Ballet, from the London
International Festival of Theatre, is a webinar about a new participatory work
of public art to celebrate the community around dogs and their owners to appreciate
the joy and tenderness that can be found in these relationships of mutual care.
#ReConnect with Community will share work from the
UK that places emphasis on the changing nature of community, as well as talks
from leading arts and cultural experts alongside knowledge sharing events from dance
and theatre producers. Selected highlights include:
- O'r Graig, a short documentary featuring
slate mines in North Wales, which have recently been designated UNESCO heritage
status.
- Journey to the Eyeth Art, a virtual art gallery
showcasing the creativity of deaf artists in an imaginary world called Eyeth
and a celebration of inclusiveness in the art for all.
- Match Make is a series of short
films which paired 8 dance artists and 8 artist collaborators during the height
of the Covid-19 pandemic, which include natural, industrial, rural, urban and
coastal settings throughout Northern Ireland.
#ReConnect with Self will focus on activities
that explore mental health and well-being. Highlight projects include:
- Time to Dance China, an international
digital collaboration between the Scottish Ballet and Shanghai International
Dance Centre designed to deliver dementia-friendly dance activities for elderly
people as well as a dance film screening.
- An online solo exhibition
of works by award-winning British artist Sir Christopher Le Brun, in addition
to an online talk between Sir Christopher Le Brun and renowned art critic,
writer and curator Shen Qilan.
"At this time of
limited travel, we are excited to once again bring some of the most dynamic
and vibrant artistic and cultural performances, exhibitions and talks from the
UK to audiences in China and offer people the choice
to experience these in person or online. With the theme of #ReConnect, we hope
to inspire our audience to re-evaluate their relationship with the natural environment,
their community, and themselves. The world is going though unprecedented
changes at this time, and arts and culture have the power to bring people together
through presenting programmes in partnership with institutions
and artists in the UK and China. The Festival acts as a platform to share
knowledge, spark discussions and stimulate thinking among our audiences." Said Rehana Mughal, Director Arts for the British
Council China.
Programme list
|
Activity
|
Date
|
Partner
|
Format
|
Geography
|
ReConnect
with Nature
|
1
|
British Library Exhibitions in Two Cities: London – Shenzhen
|
Sept
1 - 20
|
British
Library
|
Online showcase
|
England
|
2
|
Affiliated Event – The Fifth Season by Celyn
Bricker (online talk)
|
Sept 18
|
Winland
|
Online event
|
England/Beijing
|
3
|
Broken Planet Programme (online
talk for climate change between Glasgow and Kunming)
|
Sept 17
|
Natural History Museum
|
Online event
|
England/Scotland/Kunming
|
4
|
Eye of the Storm documentary featuring
Scottish landscape painter James Morrison in Shanghai
|
Sept
16
|
Montrose Pictures
|
Offline event
|
Scotland/Shanghai
|
5
|
Eye of the Storm documentary featuring
Scottish landscape painter James Morrison in Shanghai
|
Sept
19
|
Montrose Pictures
|
Online
showcase
|
Scotland
|
6
|
Our Future Planet (Films and talks for
Sustainability and the impact of Climate Change)
|
Sept
1 - 20
|
Science
Museum Group
|
Online showcase
|
England
|
7
|
The Children of Lir (performances of
raising environmental awareness)
|
Sept
1 - 20
|
Folk
NI Theatre
|
Online showcase
|
Northern Ireland
|
8
|
Dog Ballet (Webinar)
|
Sept
15
|
London
International Festival of Theatre
|
Online
event
|
England
|
9
|
CURRENT (films of the
exhibition)
|
Sept
13 - 20
|
Cooper
Gallery
|
Online
showcase
|
Scotland
|
10
|
Design and Sustainable Business Futures (panel discussion with Joey
Pringle and others)
|
TBC
|
Veshin
Factory
|
Online
Event
|
England
|
ReConnect with Community
|
11
|
Making Matters
|
Sept
13 - 20
|
IM
|
Online showcase
|
Across UK
|
12
|
Short Film Project for
Female Directors (panel discussion)
|
Sept
12
|
Encounters
Film Festival, One International Women's Festival
|
Online event
|
England/Beijing
|
13
|
Breathe and Draw (Orchestra Music)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Nevis
Ensemble
|
Online showcase
|
Scotland
|
14
|
Mojo Mickybo (theatre film)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Bruiser
Theatre Company
|
Online
showcase
|
Northern
Ireland
|
15
|
Songs for Heritage and
Culture of Northern Ireland
|
Sept 6 – 20
|
Brigid
O'Neill
|
Online
showcase
|
Northern
Ireland
|
16
|
Match Make (8 short films)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Maiden
Voyage Dance Company
|
Online
showcase
|
Northern
Ireland
|
17
|
Plethu/Weave Project (series of
dance-poetry performance films)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
National
Dance Company Wales, Literature Wales
|
Online
showcase
|
Wales
|
18
|
Nurture (performance film)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Bbeyond
|
Online
showcase
|
Northern
Ireland
|
19
|
Creative Ageing in Scotland (online talk by
Luminate Festival)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Luminate
Festival
|
Online
showcase
|
Scotland
|
20
|
O'r Graig (short documentary of
UNESCO world heritage slate in North Wales)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Wicked
Wales Film
|
Online
showcase
|
Wales
|
21
|
Beijing Stories (film screening)
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Scottish
Documentary Institute
|
Online
showcase
|
Scotland
|
22
|
Beijing Stories (artist talk)
|
Sept 20
|
Scottish
Documentary Institute
|
Online
event
|
Scotland
|
23
|
Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth an introduction
speaker: Nikki Locke
|
Sept 16
|
British
Council
|
Online
event
|
Across
UK
|
24
|
Deaf Culture Online Exhibition curated by Zhou Jiayi
|
Sept 1 - 20
|
Artist
Jiayi Zhou
|
Online
showcase
|
Across
UK
|
25
|
Selector Online Competition
|
Sept 15
|
British
Council
|
Online
Showcase
|
Across
UK
|
ReConnect
with Self
|
26
|
合[Hé]
Scottish
Dance Theatre x Shanghai International Dance Centre Collaboration (dance film
screening)
|
Sept
1- 20
|
Scottish
Dance Theatre, Shanghai International Dance Centre
|
Online
showcase
|
Scotland
|
27
|
Time to Dance (film
screening)
|
Sept
7
|
Scottish
Ballet, Luminous Festival
|
Online showcase
|
Scotland
|
28
|
Notes on Stone (Anna
Mahler)
film screening
|
Sept
10 - 20
|
Stephenson
Art
|
Online showcase
|
England
|
29
|
Future of Art
Education (film screening & panel discussion)
|
Sept 16
|
Cloud
Intelligence
|
Online event
|
Beijing
|
30
|
Affiliated event -Solo
Exhibition of works by Sir Christopher Le Brun (online talk with artist Sir Christopher Le
Brun & Shen Qilan)
|
Sept
13
|
Lisson
Gallery
|
Online event
|
England/Shenzhen
|
31
|
Affiliated event - Italian
Renaissance Drawings
|
Sept
17
|
British
Museum, M Woods
|
Online event
|
England/Beijing
|
32
|
Affiliated event - Masterpieces in Miniature:
Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection
|
Sept
19
|
V&A
Museum
|
Offline event
|
England/Zhengzhou
|
33
|
Glass Meet the Future short films
|
Sept
1-20
|
North
Lands Creative
|
Online showcase
|
Scotland
|
34
|
Artes Mundi Prabhakar Pachpute Exhibition (artist introduction)
|
Sept
1-20
|
ARTES
MUNDI
|
Online showcase
|
Wales
|
35
|
Origin to Future Thinking, podcast with Farooq Chaudhry, Xu Rui, and Rui Fu
|
Sept
1-20
|
China
House Arts
|
Online showcase
|
England
|
36
|
2021 British Classical Art Film Festival at
Lumiere Beijing, New Live Screenings
|
Sept
1-5
|
New
Live
|
Offline
showcase
|
|
Media kit
#ReConnect
2021 UK-China
Contemporary Culture Festival
Organiser: British Council
Sponsor: The Welsh Government
Period: 1-20 September 2021
Festival portal:
http://reconnect.britishcouncil.cn/
British
Council WeChat 'bc-china' and 'UK_NOW'
British
Council Weibo @英国大使馆文化教育处,
@艺述英国
Festival visual material
bank:
Baidu Cloud Link:
https://pan.baidu.com/s/1v-0MiFLbomjVJFHsQVpUxw
Pin:
p7wt
Notes to editors
The Welsh Government
Wales is a country in the UK with distinctive
traditions, heritage, culture and language. It is known as a land of song and a
country steeped in myth and legend, which, when you see the awe-inspiring
landscape, is no surprise.
The Welsh national anthem picks out 'beirdd a
chantorion' – the poets and singers – for special mention. Today, the
Welsh music and arts scenes are alive with the sounds of bilingual music,
poetry, art, and everything in between.
Learn more about Wales at wales.com
#BritishCouncil #ReConnect
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