Strengthening cultural ties

Islamabad :Associate Director of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts (Asia TOPA) and Creative Director of the boutique cultural agency, ‘Turning World,’ Kate Ben-Tovim made a stopover in Islamabad on her way to Lahore and she was the guest of honor at a lunch hosted by acting high commissioner of Australia, Brek Batley.

Kate manages the Asia TOPA festival in Melbourne, which celebrates artists and cultures in the Asia-Pacific in partnership with Salam Fest - an annual cultural event showcasing the depth and breadth of Muslim arts, culture, food and spiritual traditions in Melbourne, as a creative response to Islamophobia.

Kate, who has on-going commitment to working with contemporary indigenous artists, was very excited that Abida Parveen has agreed to perform at the next TOPA festival, which will be held in Melbourne next year in February. She was appreciative of the fact that Ayesha - who was present at the lunch - had acted as go between and managed to persuade her. “Abida Parvin is an icon - an amazing personality,” she said. “We, and those who attend the festival, are lucky.” She was also happy to be in Pakistan but since her visit was short, she expressed the desire to come again for a longer time.

It was a pleasant, interactive get-together. Naturally conversation revolved around art and culture and how - though matters have improved and a lot of activity is taking place in the cultural spectrum - it was agreed we Pakistanis need to push the boundaries and make our cultural presence known forcefully on the global scene. President, Asian Study Group, (ASG) Parvin Malik, spoke of how the ASG is contributing, in a small way, to promoting Pakistani culture as ASG has many expatriate members, while founder Salam Fest, Ayesha Bux, told of how she wanted to counter Islamophobia by showcasing our cultural heritage through a bigger platform.

A degree in Classical Saxophone led Kate to a career in the arts, where she has worked actively for over thirteen years as a producer, programmer and cross-cultural innovator in the Asia-Pacific region and has produced major projects in many countries. Awarded a Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship for 2014 and 2015, in 2014 she was also engaged as a Creative Associate to the Asian Performing Arts Program at Arts Centre, Melbourne.

She was Associate Producer of Australia’s cultural showcase in Shanghai, ‘Celebrate Australia’ in 2002 and Co-Creative Director and Producer of ‘Oz Fest 2012,’ the largest cultural diplomacy initiative ever staged in India by the Australian government. She was Executive Producer of the ‘Oceania Stage’ for the BT River of Music, a 2012 London Olympics Cultural Olympiad project.

Kate has held producing roles with numerous festivals and large-scale music productions for major festivals that have received prestigious awards. She completed the Asia Link Leaders Programme in 2010 and holds post graduate qualifications in International Relations alongside her Bachelor of Music. A former Board Member of the Australian Art Orchestra and presently an Australia Council Peer, Kate is regularly asked to present lectures, talks and workshops on cultural diplomacy, arts management and Asian engagement.