The launch of “Shifting Points”

Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting（BIPAM）, Kyoto Experiment and the Japan Foundation (JF) are pleased to announce the launch of “Shifting Points,” an incubation project for the next generation of performing arts artists in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia, jointly organized by the three organizations.

BIPAM, Kyoto Experiment and JF will select a group of emerging performance-making artists from different backgrounds in Japan, Thailand and Southeast Asia to join a three-year incubation program. Applications are open to artists, art practitioners who create works that are related to performing arts based in Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Japan. In the final selection, a total of 6 participants will be selected from Thailand (2), Southeast Asia (2), and Japan (2).

The participating cohort will gather both online and onsite to expand their ways of thinking and practice by engaging with performing arts practitioners in Southeast Asia and their socio-cultural ecosystem. Thus, they will create a collective learning experience that will result in a performative outcome. The program will be facilitated and advised by a facilitator and guest mentors.
We are looking forward to your application!

[Participant qualification]
● Artists, art practitioners who create works that are related to performing arts based in Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
● Practitioners who are in search of a different inspiration or expansion to your practice
● Has a willingness to attempt to communicate in English. (We will have interpreters for in-depth sessions)
● No age restriction
● Is eager to…
– Take inspiration from field research
– Expand their practice into a deeper local and regional socio political relevance
– Connect and exchange with other participants
● Selected participants are expected to create a report of the research (does not have to be a written report)

Final selection: Total of 6 participants from Thailand(2), Southeast Asia (2), and Japan(2).

[Schedule outline]
Phase 1 (2025)
● February: Online introductory sessions
● March (10-17): Onsite research, exchange, and idea development in Bangkok and BIPAM2025 with program mentors
● October: Onsite research, exchange, and idea development in Kyoto and Kyoto Experiment 2025 with program mentors

*The process may continue to phase 2 and 3 in Jan-March and October 2026 and March 2027.
(The application process will be renewed and participants will also be reselected to suit each phase of the program.)

[How to apply]
Please fill out this form:
☞ Application form
Deadline: before 13 January 2025 (Monday), 23:59 (JP time).

[Selection procedure]
● Results from the document application screening will be sent to each applicant by 15th January. A number of applicants will be invited for an online interview with the organizers.
● The online interview will be conducted during 15 – 22 January.
● Final participants’ selection will be announced by the end of January.

Selected participants will receive travel (domestic and international transportation), accommodation, travel insurance, and per diem (1,500THB per day for Bangkok period) support for each on-site activities.

[About Shifting Points]
Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting（BIPAM）, Kyoto Experiment and the Japan Foundation (JF) are pleased to announce the launch of “Shifting Points,” an incubation project for the next generation of performing arts artists in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia, jointly organized by the three organizations.
BIPAM and Kyoto Experiment serve as vital platforms for invigorating contemporary performing arts within our communities, fostering connections between local and global movements while nurturing emerging talent and strengthening art ecosystems. In these times of global change, it has become vital to emphasize creating art that raises awareness and promotes societal dialogue. Our mission is to challenge the status quo, foster resilience, and amplify emerging voices across Southeast Asia and Japan.

“Shifting Points” is an incubation project intended to reflect the profound societal and cultural transformations since 2020, urging a re-discovery of our identities within our own contexts rather than through Western reproductions. It emphasizes nurturing emerging artistic voices shaped by these changes and fostering resilience and passion among practitioners. By learning from each other and embracing the evolving ecosystem, “Shifting Points” invites us to explore new perspectives and navigate the shifting landscapes of art and society. Through this program, we aspire to strengthen regional networks, encourage mutual learning, and create an ecosystem where emerging artists can thrive and shape the future of the performing arts with revolutionary and activist mindsets.

Yuya Tsukahara (Facilitator)

Photo by: Takuya Matsumi

After graduating with a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Art Studies from Kwansei Gakuin University, he joined NPO DANCEBOX as a volunteer and later became a staff member. In 2006, he began activities as an artist as a member of the performance group contact Gonzo. In 2020, he received the Best staff award at the Yomiuri Theater Awards for his scenography and choreography in the theater work Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession. In recent years, he has been involved in various mentoring projects and university lectures to cultivate artists in the younger generation. Yuya is currently one of the co-directors of Kyoto Experiment.

June Tan (Guest mentor)

June Tan is a producer, scriptwriter and member of the arts collective Five Arts Centre based in Kuala Lumpur. She studied Biology at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine and worked in the corporate world while stage-managing, tour-managing and producing numerous arts productions.

From 2018-2020 June was Director for TPAM in Yokohama, a platform reflecting contemporary thinking in Asia. She is active in ReformARTsi, a grassroots coalition seeking arts policy change and also in environmental activism with Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia. June has written for film (Interchange, Spilt Gravy, Budak Flat, Housekeeping?) and also for numerous platforms in Southeast Asia (Astro, MediaCorp, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Viu Malaysia)

Helly Minarti (Guest mentor)

Helly Minarti is a Jakarta-born who relocated to Yogyakarta in late 2018 and continues working as an independent curator/dramaturg/scholar in the field of contemporary performance. She attempts to align her politics/practice of the arts by rethinking radical strategies to connect it with theory grounded in the experiential as well as historical. Applying curating-as-research, one of her core interests is looking at the historiographies of choreography as discursive practice vis-á-vis the eclectic knowledge that infuses the understanding of human body, consciousness and nature. She has co-curated a number of festivals and co-facilitated artistic platforms. Her most recent curatorial projects include Jejak-旅Tabi Exchange: Wandering Asian Contemporary Performance (2018-2021) in four Asian cities and The Sea Within, being the first to do Cruising of Taipei Arts Festival, a curator residency.

[About the Japan Foundation (JF)]
JF is Japan’s only Institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs throughout the world.
On the occasion of the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation (2023), JF will implement intensively over the next 10 years the “Partnership to Co-create a Future with the Next Generation: WA Project 2.0,” a comprehensive people-to-people exchange initiative that aims to promote exchange among the next generation and develop human resources in Japan and ASEAN.
Under this framework, JF will co-organize “Shifting Points” with Kyoto Experiment and BIPAM.
The Japan Foundation – Partnership to Co-create a Future with the Next Generation: WA Project 2.0

[About BIPAM and Kyoto Experiment]
BIPAM
BIPAM (Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting) is a platform dedicated to fostering connections, dialogue, and collaboration within the performing arts community in Thailand, Southeast Asia and connecting them to the broader worldwide regions. It serves as a space for networking among artists, producers, curators, and cultural organizations, offering opportunities to showcase contemporary performing arts, exchange ideas, and develop regional and international partnerships. BIPAM also focuses on nurturing emerging talents and creating a dynamic environment for exploring socio-political and cultural issues through artistic expression.
https://www.bipam.org/

Kyoto Experiment
Kyoto Experiment is a performing arts festival held in Kyoto since 2010. Dedicated to producing and presenting experimental performing arts—both from Japan and overseas— the festival aims to explore and create new dialogues and values in society. Featuring experimental works that move freely between genres such as theater, dance, music and fine art, the festival hopes to open up new possibilities through the creations, experiences, and ideas that emerge from such a diverse combination.
https://kyoto-ex.jp/en/

This program is co-organized by BIPAM, Kyoto Experiment and the Japan Foundation.

For inquiries:
pointsshifting@gmail.com (TH, JP, EN)

☞ Application details in PDF ver.