Panel Discussion: Artistic Exchange Between Australia and Taiwan

For the first time, Performance Space's beloved Queer Development Program has gone international, welcoming artists from across Australia and the Asia Pacific to come together to develop their creative skills, performance ideas and industry connections.

To celebrate we're hosting a free panel discussion where audiences can join PSpace Artistic Director Kate Britton and three dynamic Taiwanese creatives in conversation on the value of international artistic exchange and PSpace's past and future work in Taiwan.

Supported by TECO in Sydney

Meet the Panel:

Kate Britton is the Artistic Director of Performance Space and Liveworks Festival. For more than a decade she has worked in experimental practice across festivals, galleries, and artist-led platforms. Her curatorial focus is queer and anti-disciplinary creative practice and she has a PhD in aesthetics as a framework for social change. Kate was the founding Creative Director of the New Annual festival with the City of Newcastle. She has worked with Sydney Opera House, Campbelltown Arts Centre, This is Not Art Festival, Art Month Sydney, FBi Radio, Underbelly Arts Festival, Kaldor Public Art Projects, and as a freelance writer, creative producer and curator; and has served on the boards of Firstdraft Gallery and Runway. She is committed to working with artists reciprocally, responsively and transparently, seeking to build lasting relationships and foster generative and connected communities of practice.

Karen Sung is a producer and project manager working across the fields of performing arts and cultural events, based in Taiwan. She has worked closely with the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the Tainan Arts Festival (TNAF), and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), delivering their international programs and large-scale projects. Currently pursuing her MA in Arts Administration and Management, her research focuses on the industrialisation of the performing arts in Taiwan, investment and financing policies, and the structural impacts of public cultural policies on the creative sector.

Chien Shih-Han (Hannah) is currently studying for a master’s degree of Transdisciplinary Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts. graduated from MA in Performance Making from Goldsmiths, University of London, and BA in Drama at National Taiwan University of Arts.

He began working as an actor for theatre and screen in 2014. In 2020, he created his drag queen alter ego, Hannah, through a project-oriented artwork, using this persona to create art across various fields.

The core of his work explores the depths of nationalities and identity, gender fluidity, daily life in Taiwan, and the wild mix of pop culture and the underground scene. He uses these themes to picture how minority groups survive, presenting his work with a raw tone that is humorous and chaotic.

His creative journey started with traditional theatre based on his acting background, but has since expanded into many different forms of live performance. His spaces cover theatres, nightlife clubs, performance art, and visual arts fields. His mediums are deeply diverse, including live performance, video, stand-up comedy, sewing, painting, sound, and mixed media.

Su PinWen (HE/THEY) is a Feminism Artist. Born in Taiwan in 1985, currently based in the south of Taiwan. They are Artistic Director of KUABO DANCE THEATRE Company, resident at Chiayi Performing Arts Center. PINWEN’s work challenges the heteronormative revolving around notions of gender, feminism(s) and nudity. Since 2013, he's researched and practiced tactile culture. They take dance into social and political realms beyond its forms. Their recent work explores body politics with feminist approaches across disciplines.