Adelaide has spent decades building its identity as a “festival city”, yet 2026 will be the final OzAsia Festival after 20 years. Since 2007, OzAsia has showcased Asian and Asian-Australian art, literature, music and public debate.

The festival’s presenter, Adelaide Festival Centre, says Asian voices will be programmed year-round from next year onward, while The Lucky Dumpling Market will continue to be held each spring.

Adelaide Festival Centre chief executive Kate Gould framed this as a strategic move:

having a dedicated OzAsia Festival that’s about Asian arts doesn’t really represent the fact that Asian voices also want to see a year-round presence at the centre.

having a dedicated OzAsia Festival that’s about Asian arts doesn’t really represent the fact that Asian voices also want to see a year-round presence at the centre.

But it raises broader questions about the importance of cultural festivals to the fabric of a society, and what can be lost when they disappear.

More year-round arts programming is always welcome – but festivals serve a different purpose. Their power comes from concentration. For a limited period, people gather in the same place, cultural activity becomes highly visible, and everyday routines are interrupted.

Festival researchers call this liminality. It can create communitas, a temporary sense of connection and belonging among people sharing an experience. Research on festivals........

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