The Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts (Asia TOPA) 2025 continues to be a groundbreaking celebration of culture, art, and ancestral knowledge.
ASIA TOPA 2025 is a festival that crosses boundaries, honouring cultural histories while looking to the future. Each performance brings together artists from across the Asia-Pacific region, creating unique collaborations that celebrate the resilience, beauty, and strength of First Nations and Indigenous cultures.
From the ancestral connections explored in Gapu Ŋupan to the immersive transformation in Pulau, and the choral celebration of Ane Ta Abia, these works invite audiences to witness the power of art to build connection and inspire understanding across borders and generations.
Asia TOPA
- When: 20 February – 10 March
- City-wide, with centrally located events plus some across the suburbs. All accessible by transport!
Here are some of the upcoming highlights you won’t want to miss!
Gapu Ŋupan (Chasing the Rainbow)
When: 27 February 2025 — 1 March 2025
Where: Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
In a world premiere performance, Gapu Ŋupan takes audiences on an immersive journey through ancient songlines and storytelling, uniting the rich cultural traditions of the Yolŋu people from North East Arnhem Land with the vibrant artistic practices of the Paiwan and Amis people from Taiwan. This stunning cross-cultural collaboration, created over five years, features the talents of renowned artists from Bangarra Dance Theatre and Yothu Yindi, alongside spine-tingling songs in the Paiwan language, live instrumentation, and exquisite hand-crafted costumes.
Co-directed by multi-award winning Amis singer-songwriter and artist Suming Rupi and esteemed First Nations choreographer Rachel Wallis, Gapu Ŋupan celebrates the power of art to connect people to Country and culture. Wallis, a former member of Bangarra Dance Theatre, brings over three decades of experience to this performance, which showcases her vision of using performance to preserve and share ancient knowledge.
As the custodian of Yolŋu cultural knowledge, Banula Marika, a respected artist and Songman from Yirrkala, brings his expertise to the production. With over 40 years of experience, Marika is instrumental in guiding the performance’s portrayal of Yolŋu songlines and traditions. This work resonates with a deep sense of pride and spiritual connection, offering a rare and beautiful glimpse into two ancient cultures coming together to forge a shared future.
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Pulau (Island)
When: 22 — 23 February 2025
Where: Great Hall, NGV International
Step into the immersive world of Pulau, a site-specific performance responding to the iconic work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Commissioned for Asia TOPA and presented within the NGV International’s landmark Kusama exhibition, Pulau transforms the Great Hall beneath Kusama’s ethereal installation, Dots Obsession 1996/2024.
In the darkened space of an imagined island, four performers emerge with glowing eyes, engaging in a ritual of metamorphosis and endurance. Their bodies morph into mythic figures, symbolising acts of resistance, pleasure, and protection. Choreographed by Melanie Lane, Pulau is a reflection on the tension between the body as a site of resistance and Kusama’s obsession with obliteration and ethereal, immersive worlds.
Through this transformative work, the island becomes both a place of escape and a hazardous, vulnerable site of resistance—further exploring themes of obliteration versus transformation. In Pulau, Lane creates a space where the human body and environment collide, where identity and place are in constant flux.
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Ane Ta Abia
When: 8 March 2025
Where: Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Ane Ta Abia invites audiences to experience an unforgettable choral concert that brings together the music and voices of Australia and Papua New Guinea in a celebration of Motuan culture. Created by Aaron Choulai, Artistic Director of the Australian Art Orchestra, and in collaboration with the Tatana Village choir from Papua New Guinea, this special performance showcases the Motuan singing style of Peroveta—a unique choral form developed from the 19th century colonisation of Papua.
Performed during key life rituals such as marriage, death, and birth, Peroveta transforms Western hymns into a distinctive, powerful musical language. This one-off concert features a 12-member choir from Tatana, 8 members of the Australian Art Orchestra, and a series of short films that highlight the beauty and significance of this rare music.
“Ane Ta Abia” is more than just a concert—it is a celebration of Motuan culture and its ongoing transformation, offering audiences a rare opportunity to hear music that has rarely been shared outside of these communities.
For those interested in learning more about the Motuan singing style, an exclusive choral workshop will be held on 5 March 2025 at The Channel. This workshop offers a rare opportunity to explore the Peroveta style with the Tatana Village Choir.
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Don’t miss your chance to be part of these extraordinary performances—mark your calendars and be ready to experience the richness of culture, art, and storytelling at ASIA TOPA 2025.
For the full program, head here.
