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Message from the director-general of the Japan Foundation, Bangkok
It is our great pleasure and honor to participate in the 2nd edition of Unfolding Kafka Festival by bringing an internationally acclaimed visual artist and performer, Hiroaki Umeda with his installations of the body and light this year.
The year 2017 falls on the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan, having a wide variety of cultural projects not only by the Japan Foundation but also by fellow organizations both in Thailand and Japan.
Among line-ups of such cultural projects, Unfolding Kafka Festival is, I believe, one of the most ideal platforms to promote the appreciation of contemporary art in Thailand, thanks to the enthusiasm and vision of its festival director, Jitti Chompee, as well as to the sharp and critical eyes of its audience.
Obviously, lots of Japanese artists are also inspired by Kafka, including the world-renowned Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami. He has won the Franz Kafka Award in 2006, and even has his work with the German writer’s name on the title, Kafka on the Shore (2002).
Though Umeda’s works this time are not directly inspired by Kafka, his first-ever performances in Southeast Asia will, I would say with confident, provoke your thoughts on the boundary between dance, performance and installation, just as Kafka drifted around the boundary between realism and the fantastic.
It is my fervent hope that Unfolding Kafka Festival this year will attract a wider audience with its variety of performances/events and will provide us the rejoice of appreciating contemporary art in this extremely market-driven city.
Norihiko Yoshioka
Director-General
The Japan Foundation, Bangkok
Khaosod English: Kafka’s chimp apes at human in ‘Red Peter’
Would you stop being what you are if it meant survival? Animalism, absurdity and adaptation collide on stage in a surreal physical performance for four days in Bangkok.
Adapted from Franz Kafka’s story of a chimp who casts away his identity to survive by acting human, “Red Peter” comes to life this month at Bangkok CityCity to challenge audiences to find truth in the absurd. Continue reading
The residency project 2016 with Korzo is made possible by the Kylián Foundation in The Netherlands.
Press about Unfolding Kafka
Bangkok Post interview with Jitti Chompee, director and curator of the festival
Kafka creative
Dancer and choreographer Jitti Chompee on the interpretation of his work
Even though he is responsible for curating all performances and art pieces that have been showcasing at “Unfolding Kafka Festival”, dancer and choreographer Jitti Chompee has had limited exposure when it comes to actual works of the literature’s icon. He doesn’t want to just focus on the text of Franz Kafka but to extend the interpretation of his work, which is what the festival revolves around.
Bangkok Post interview with Yoko Seyama, artist of ‘The Silence of Insects’ installation
Silent insects hang out
When Yoko Seyama was invited to join the “Unfolding Kafka Festival”, the installation artist didn’t take much time to think about what she would be doing. By focusing on a word from the title, “unfolding”, she immediately came up with origami.
“By folding, you can sculpt many shapes. But once you unfold, it’s nothing again. It’s just plain paper. I think this idea is quite amazing,” said the Japanese artist. Origami is a well-known Japanese paper art, though this is Seyama’s first time dealing with paper folding in an installation….
The Nation interview with Jitti Chompee, director and curator of the festival
Jitti Chompee curates a new dance festival that is inspired by Kafka
CHOREOGRAPHER JITTI CHOMPEE, whose contemporary dance works have been part of many festivals in Bangkok and around the region has a new passion – curating a festival on his own. And for his first, which pays tribute to the works of writer Franz Kafka, he’s also creating a new work and performing in another.
“The idea for this festival started from watching Isabelle Schad and Laurent Goldring’s ‘Der Bau’ [‘The Burrow’] at Tanzplattform in Hamburg last year,” says Jitti, who is artistic director of the 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre and has taken part in such events as La Fete, the International Dance Festival Bangkok and….
Bangkok Post interview with Dr Marla Stukenberg, director of the Goethe Institut Thailand
Kafka on our shore
Franz Kafka in Thailand — does that sound irrelevant, or is it very timely?
Last year, Goethe Institut’s literary festival that centred around the works of Kafka was held to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the writer’s death. Much to the surprise of the institute’s director, Dr Marla Stukenberg, the “Kafka Festival” was met with packed audiences and enthusiastic feedback. In fact, sales of the Thai translations of Kafka’s works after the festival soared significantly, according…
Opening night Silence of Insects sold out
The opening night of Unfolding Kafka festival on 14th November is sold out.
Tickets for the live performance ‘The Silence of Insects‘ on 15 and 16 November are still available.
Don’t miss this performance with an installation and scenography by Yoko Seyama and choreography by Jitti Chompee. Make your ticket reservation by e-mail (info@unfoldingkafkafestival.com) in advance.
BK magazine: Bangkok’s next contemporary dance festival
BK magazine: Bangkok’s next contemporary dance festivalinternational choreographers interpret the work of Franz Kafka
Jitti Chompee, renowned choreographer and founder of Thai dance company 18 Monkeys is back with another art festival, this time collaborating with Goethe-Institut, the Japan Foundation and World Performances @ Drama Chula in a series of performances that draw inspiration from the madly bizarre and surreal world of Kafka. The Unfolding Kafka Festival, taking place between Nov 12-Dec 3, aims to highlight the importance of performance art through international collaborations.
7 people making Thailand proud
BK Magazine has exclaimed festival director Jitti Chompee as one of the 7 people that making Thailand proud on the global stage right now.
See more at: BK Magazine online
Register now: Special Festival Pass
The Special Festival Pass gives entry to all events. The pass also includes the workshop by Isabelle Schad (16 November 2015), but advanced registration by e-mail for this workshop is required.
THB 1,200 / THB 700 (for students)
Please send an e-mail to info@unfoldingkafkafestival.com to register for the festival pass.