Edinburgh Festival Fringe Announces Winners Of The 2024 Seoul Arts Awards

The second Seoul Arts Awards winners were announced at an award ceremony held in the Assembly's Ballroom. Held during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Seoul Arts Awards were set up in 2023 to celebrate and encourage the global cultural exchange of performing arts without language barriers and to reward the range of work and talent presented at the world's largest arts festival.

Each winner will be given an opportunity to perform in the Republic of Korea.

The 2024 winners include:

• An Underbelly production in association with David Bates - La Clique at Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows - breathtaking, hilarious, sexy, dangerous and iconic that started at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004 and subsequently has gained international acclaim around the globe. 

• Gravity & Other Myths / House of Oz - Ten Thousand Hours at Assembly Hall (Main Hall) - an ode to the countless hours needed to achieve great things. Eight acrobats investigate physical skill: how we obtain it, how we perfect it, and how it can transform our lives. 

• Recirquel Cirque Danse - Paradisum at Assembly Roxy - the myth of regenesis following the silence of a perished world is explored where the body is the medium, the movement is the common language.

• Dorothy James and Andy Manjuck in association with Underbelly - Bill's 44th at Underbelly Cowgate - this hilarious but at times emotional puppet party is a wordless spectacle featuring puppets, raucous balloons, and a cheeky piece of crudité that collide to examine the pitfalls of impatience, the wonder of loneliness, and the universal passage of time

• Trygve Wakenshaw - Silly Little Things at Assembly Roxy - hilarious mime-clown-comedy show. Light and silly, absurd and Dada, and a sort of autobiographical, introspective look at all the silly little things that can make or break a friendship.

Angella Kwon, Global Cultural Exchange Committee Chair and Artistic Director of the Edinburgh Korean Season said: “With a deep desire to broaden the understanding between Korea and the world, we launched ‘Seoul Arts Awards' for the first time last year. It has been a blessing to select performances to introduce international work to Korean and Asian audiences from among the talented artists representing 60 countries. Last year, we selected five outstanding works from Canada, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Hungary. This year, we are honoured to present five exceptional pieces from the United Kingdom, the United States, Hungary, Australia, and New Zealand.” 

She added: “Understanding each other's cultures can solve many of the world's problems, as understanding is the key to acceptance. We have grown through this festival and pray that this growth never stops.”

Winners quotes:

Bence Vági, Artistic Director of Recirquel, Director and Choreographer of Paradisum said: “We are honoured to receive the Seoul Arts Award for the second year in a row. It is a great pleasure that the artistic vision of circus dance represented in Paradisum is recognised by a jury representing diverse cultures.”

Lachlan Binns, Director of Ten Thousand Hours said: "We're honoured and thrilled to receive this award. We're proud to be presenting this work at the largest cultural event in the world, and a festival that holds an important place in Gravity and Other Myth's history. Thank you to everyone who has supported the creation of Ten Thousand Hours - the Australian Government RISE Fund, Creative Australia, Arts SA, Chameleon Theatre, La Strada Graz, Adelaide Festival Centre and Gluttony. Special thanks to House of Oz who have made it possible for us to be here in Edinburgh.

Trygve Wakenshaw, Director and Performer of Silly Little Things said: “It's a pleasure to be back at Edinburgh Fringe after several years away. This has been the premiere season of the new show, and now I can see in the show the influence the past seven years have had on the way I make things. I'm so thrilled with the audience and critical response to the show, and I'm very proud to have been selected by the Seoul Arts Award for this prize. I have performed in Seoul and Busan in the past, and have some lovely friends in both places.”

Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James - Creators and Puppeteers, Bill's 44th said: “Thank you! Puppetry is both ubiquitous and also somehow niche - it is an honour to be recognised! We hope Bill has the opportunity to share his birthday with many more people in the future. Happy Birthday, Bill!”

David Bates, Creative Director, La Clique said: "The La Clique company of artists is absolutely delighted to be awarded this prestigious award from the Seoul Arts Awards. It is a tribute to the longevity of the genre that after 20 years this work remains as fresh, exciting and cutting-edge as ever. La Clique continues to showcase ‘the best of the best' artists in cabaret, new variety and circus and true to its form reinvents itself with every iteration. We are deeply grateful for the recognition. Thank you!”

To post a comment, you must register and login.