Announce the six artists selected for Shifting Points

We are pleased to announce the six artists selected for Shifting Points. Shifting Points is a three-year incubation project for emerging performing arts artists from Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia, jointly organized by the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM), Kyoto Experiment, and the Japan Foundation. Intended to reflect the profound social and cultural transformations since 2020, Shifting Points aims to reexamine values and practices in Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia while exploring new frameworks for performing arts.

Rather than reproducing artistic expression within a Western context, Shifting Points aims to help artists rediscover their own identity while taking into account the cultural backgrounds of Thailand, Japan, and Southeast Asia. This project provides a platform where artists with diverse histories and cultures can come together and make use of their unique backgrounds to explore new forms of artistic expression.

We received an overwhelming response, with a total of 123 applications. We would like to extend our deepest thanks to everyone for their interest in this new project. After a careful review of all applications, a thorough interview process, and consideration of many different factors during the selection process, the organizers selected six artists. The selection was based not only on past achievements but also on the potential impact of the experiences gained through this program on future artistic creation. Every artist who applied demonstrated impressive careers and strong enthusiasm, making the selection process highly competitive. We sincerely hope that those who were unfortunately not selected to join us this time will continue to develop their ambitious activities in their respective places and that our paths will cross in the near future.

Selected Artists (in alphabetical order by first name)
Annastasya Verina (Indonesia)
Hidekazu Tamai (Japan)
Hoàng Anh Nguyễn (Vietnam)
Pongsatorn Phutthakhot (Thailand)
Thanaphon Accawatanyu (Thailand)
Yuka Uchida (Japan)

These six artists have different cultural backgrounds and through meaningful exchange with each other, we hope they will be able to broaden the possibilities of their future creations. The program will begin with an online session in February 2025, followed by fieldwork in Bangkok in March and in Kyoto in October.
We hope this project will serve as a platform for co-creation that transcends borders and look forward to seeing the selected artists’ future endeavours.

February 10th, 2025
BIPAM, Kyoto Experiment,the Japan Foundation

Biographies of Selected Artists

Annastasya Verina (Indonesia)

Annastasya Verina is a choreographer and dancer based in Surakarta, Indonesia. She develops her artistic practice by participating in intensive classes while working part-time at Studio Plesungan. Her work explores social issues, questioning and reinterpreting the realities around her as a form of self-reflection and part of her creative process. Her works have been featured at various festivals, including Nyorog (International Mask Festival 2021), Waktu Ku Kecil, Tidak Besar (Salihara International Performing Arts Festival 2024), and Sebut Saja N (Indonesia Bertutur Festival 2024).

Hidekazu Tamai (Japan)

Based in Kyoto, Japan. Playwright and Director of ‘Gekidan FAX’. Hidekazu Tamai constructs stories based on Japanese spirituality. Working with the structure of Japanese folk tales, he writes scripts in which words and words are connected by ‘Goen’ to form a story. Tamai is researching to re-think ‘the relationship between festivals and people’ at Kyoto University. The knowledge gained through fieldwork in Miyazaki, Nagano and Botswana are reflected in his theatrical work. He has conducted workshops at high schools and universities in Kyoto.

Hoàng Anh Nguyễn (Vietnam)

Based in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam. Originally a street dancer, he uses the body as his primary medium, focusing on dialogues born from his everyday observations. These range from romanticizing daily gestures and conversations to inquiries into identity, or attempts to reimagine phenomena and surreal events he encounters. With an approach that oscillates between instinctive and cautious, he employs his body as a channel to project these reflections through mediums such as performance, video, and conceptual art. Hoàng Anh has live performances and exhibited, screening works in various spaces, including the Nguyen Art Foundation, IN:ACT2022, Nổ Cái Bùm Art Festival, KULTX Collaborative Space, and beyond.

Pongsatorn Phutthakhot (Thailand)

Based in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Pongsatorn graduated in Performing Arts from Khon Kaen University, inspired by the costume quick changes of the ensemble actors. Through studying theater, Pongsatorn discovered its profound ability to communicate stories and explore humanity. His works often addressed themes such as anti-war, women’s empowerment, and peace, reflecting his belief in theater as a tool for meaningful change. After graduation, Pongsatorn shifted his focus inward, exploring inner peace and rediscovering the cultural richness of Isan, his homeland. Currently, he creates works inspired by Isan traditions, such as Lam singing, khaen music, folktale and Isan poem, aiming to reimagine them in new innovative forms.

Thanaphon Accawatanyu (Thailand)

Based in Bangkok, Thailand. Director-playwright graduated with a major in Film from Thammasat University. Began creating theater productions while still in university as part of a drama club and later founded the Splashing Theatre group to participate in a performance festival in 2015. The group has continued producing plays till the present. Most of his past works involve adapting various media (primarily films) into plays or theatrical performances. Won the Best Play and Best Script awards in 2016 from the IATC for The Disappearance of the Boy on a Sunday Afternoon. Also participated in the Watch&Talk program at Theaterfestival Basel in 2022.

Yuka Uchida (Japan)

Born in Osaka in 1987, Uchida is a choreographer and dancer. She trained with NPO Dance Box and participated in a dance study program in Kobe organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and NPO Dance Box. Her works focus on “choreography by the situations” and are presented in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues. Notable works include Living Series (2019), based on diaries, and New Fieldwork (2023), which explores pigeons through amateur fieldwork. Since 2022, she has worked with Mi-Mi-Bi, a dance company involving people with disabilities. She co-directed a performance for the Toyooka Theater Festival (2024).

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