Chinese Millennials

Every year at Festival/Tokyo, the Asia Series showcases an Asian nation’s performing arts and visual art. The fourth edition of the series focuses on China, especially the nation’s millennial generation born between the 1980s and 2000s.

This generation grew up after the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 and the start of the economic reforms in 1978. Today comprising 30% of the population of China, the millennials are a leading force in consumer trends. The generation has been online ever since it can remember as well as absorbing aspects of pop culture from America, Europe and Japan. It is no longer usual for young people in the big cities to have received education overseas and this kind of experience stimulates many artists to develop a critical stance toward contemporary society in their work, which is nonetheless rooted in their own nation’s history and culture.

Asia Series

Each year the Asia Series chooses one country in the Asian region and showcases examples of its performing arts, music, visual art, and more. Launched in 2014, the inaugural series presented South Korean performing arts, followed by Myanmar at F/T15 and Malaysia at F/T16. The fourth iteration of the series focuses on China. The showcase is curated based on research into the local arts scene, social conditions, history and culture. In this way, it conveys what is shared and differs within contemporary Asia, forming a foundation for sustainable exchange premised on the diversity of language and culture.