OzAsia Festival's IN OTHER WORDS Will Showcase Leading Asian Australian Contemporary Writers and Thinkers

Audiences from across Australia and overseas are set to tune in when OzAsia Festival presents its new writing and ideas program In Other Words this weekend.

The program kicks off tomorrow with Writing Humour: It's Not That Ha Ha Hard online school sessions presented by children's author Oliver Phommavanh, along with a unique sold-out experience on the Adelaide Oval footbridge, Lunch on the Riverbank With Parwana, presented by local restauranteur Durkhanai Ayubi.

This Saturday and Sunday will see more than 40 of Asia and Australia's most inspiring contemporary writers and thinkers engage in vital conversations about our past, present and future across a range of free sessions in Adelaide Festival Centre's Dunstan Playhouse.

In light of interstate travel restrictions, many of the speakers will be joining in via video link, with moderators appearing on stage in front of a live audience. Registrations are still open for those wishing to secure their seats, and unregistered attendees will be admitted subject to capacity.

Viewers from all over the world can tune in through a free livestream, and video recordings will be available to watch on the OzAsia Festival website after the event.

In Other Words Program Curator Laura Kroetsch: "We are delighted to present the inaugural In Other Words as part of OzAsia Festival 2021. It's going to be an exciting snapshot of Australia in the Asia-Pacific, and we'll be exploring some of the key issues here at home and across the region. We hope you can join us for important discussions about the remarkable times we find ourselves in, and what might be waiting for us just over the horizon."

Ms Kroetsch, a long-time curator and producer of literary and ideas events, is joined by writer/broadcaster Benjamin Law and award-winning Indian Australian author Roanna Gonsalves as guest curators.

In Other Words will officially open with You Are Here (And So Is China) - a panel discussion about the implications of an increasingly powerful China - and concludes with a closing night debate on whether Australia is an Asian country, with broadcast personality Marc Fennell, comedian Jennifer Wong and playwright Anchuli Felicia King among those set to weigh in.

After a highly successful first two weeks including a record-breaking 100,000 attendances across its opening, OzAsia Festival's closing weekend also features the Adelaide premiere of TWO, a dance theatre work exploring the interdisciplinary relationship between contemporary dancer/choreographer Raghav Handa and maestro tabla player Maharshi Raval.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM: "We are thrilled to bring In Other Words 2021 to audiences both online and in the Dunstan Playhouse through our new hybrid presentation model. I encourage our audiences to join us for an exciting line-up of conversations not to be missed."

For more information and to register for In Other Words, visit www.ozasiafestival.com.au.

To post a comment, you must register and login.