VITAL Travels to France
Festival Dates 26 - 28 November 2007

Various locations in Sete and Montpellier
More information http://www.infraction.info

Vital 07: Essence of performance
20th and 21st November 2007, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester UK

VITAL 07 Artists Announced

Vital 07 is a chance to experience the powerful, yet fundamentally simple, emotional relationship between the artist and the audience. With the use of technology playing an ever-increasing role in many artworks, the engagement between two people is often lost in the dazzling use of new media. Live Art is all about communication and Vital 07 will strip away the reliance on props and gimmicks to expose the essence of performance.

The selected artists are all engaging performers with a clear message to convey. Coming from around the world, they do not share a common language, yet their work is universal, dealing with issues such as power, identity and economics, that everyone can relate to. All of the selected artists are of Chinese descent, from China, Hong Kong and the Chinese Diaspora. Aside from their ethnicity, what links them is a passion to involve others in their work and to create an awareness of their situation.

Vital 07 Artists

Ying Mei Duan (Germany), Lee Wen (Singapore), Hao Lang (China), He Cheng Yao (China), Zhou Bin (China), Marcus Young (USA), LEUNG Po-shan, Anthony (Hong Kong), Jenevieve Chang (UK), Yadong Hao (UK), Becky Ip (Canada), Yang Zhi Chao (China), Brendan Fan (UK), Rosa Mei (Belgium), Jason Lim (Singapore), Lushan Liu (UK), Poshui (China).

VITAL Funding Announced for 2007!

The essence of performance 20th 23rd November

Chinese Arts Centre is pleased to announce that funding from the Arts Council of England has been secured for the second year running.

Sarah Champion, CEO of Chinese Arts Centre and curator of the VITAL festival said "We are so delighted that ACE have supported Vital for another year. Vital showcases edgy, risky Chinese performers from around the world - so I admire ACE for having the courage to stick with us."

This year's VITAL International Live Art festival will take place in Manchester and Liverpool. After the success of VITAL 2006, 2007 promises another citywide Live Art feast with two days of back-to-back performances at Chinese Arts Centre's NEW! dedicated performance space and other venues in the city. In addition to the performance aspect of this year? festival, VITAL 2007 will partner with Liverpool John Moores University to host a two-day conference looking at the use of the body within Chinese arts. Speakers for the conference are now being short-listed, watch this space and check our www.vitalfestival.org for up to date information.

20th 21st November 2007 Performance Dates, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK
22nd 23rd November 2007 Conference Dates, John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

For more information about Vital 2007 please contact Alyson Doocey at Chinese Arts Centre on: +44 (0) 161 832 7271 or email marketing@chinese-arts-centre.org

China Now festival
February 2008

CHINA NOW the largest festival of Chinese culture ever in the UK launches in February 2008, with a series of high-profile events and a spectacular firework display to mark the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Throughout the first half of 2008, until the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, CHINA NOW will coordinate some 800 events, performances and activities, shining a spotlight on the very best of modern China to forge international connections and unite and inspire communities. CHINA NOW is a showcase of art, design, cuisine and culture, science, business and technology, education and sport an inspirational celebration of vibrant, dynamic 21st-century China.

Vital 06 in the Press

Quotes

Manchester? northern quarter is an area that brims with life and energy as it redevelops and flourishes. At the heart of this positive rebirth is Chinese Arts Centre. VITAL the four-day festival celebrating Chinese art across the globe.

Tom Spooner. DXN Magazine

Chinese Live Art has been a rarity on these shores, but then, until recently, it has been quite a rarity in China itself, with artists often finding themselves up against a government that fears what it doesn? always understand. Last year? UK tour China Live featured several interesting pieces, and now you can get another glimpse of the breadth and depth of work taking place in VITAL 06.

Guardian Guide. 28 Oct 3 Nov 2006

Give us a smile, you miserable Mancunians
A top international performer has embarked on a one-man mission to cheer up Manchester. Artist Marcus Young launched his bid to put a smile on the faces of hundreds of Mancunians on a gloomy late-autumn afternoon. The bizarre performance saw him take tree hours to shuffle between the Arndale Centre and St Ann? Church a distance which would normally take less than five minutes to cover.

Stephanie Steward and Yakub Qureshi, Manchester Evening News, 1 Nov 2006-11-30

ART EVENT VITAL 06
Officially beginning today and taking place throughout the city until Sunday afternoon, Vital 06 is the inaugural Chinese Live Art Festival: a four-day celebration of performance art and its many different permutations from more than a dozen artists. Comprising presentations, screenings, talks and, of course, live performance; the vast majority of events will take place at the Chinese Arts Centre. Certain events will spill out on to the streets, however quite literally in the case of Marcus Young? work, which simply involves him walking slowly throughout Manchester and engaging with those he meets?

Richard Smirke, Metro News, 2 Nov 2006