Who We Are

Kakilang 自己人 produces and presents world-class interdisciplinary art from a wide spectrum of Southeast and East Asian voices. We pioneer work across multiple art forms and showcase artists working at the intersection of diverse practices.

Kakilang (formerly Chinese Arts Now) was founded in 2005 and became a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England in 2018. Since then we have partnered with the Barbican, Southbank Centre, Rich Mix, Soho Theatre, The Place, Horizon, Leicester Curve, York Theatre Royal, Cambridge Junction, Oxford Contemporary Music, LSO St Luke’s, BFI, Young Vic, Tamasha, Dance Umbrella, and more.

We rebranded as Kakilang in September 2022. The new company name Kakilang (自己人), meaning ‘one of us’ in the Hokkien dialect, evoking kinship and affinity, is widely used amongst East and Southeast Asian diasporic groups. For us, our Kakilang are people who come together through art, and who champion diverse voices and communities.

The rebranding marks a watershed moment for us as we grow the ambition, scale, and reach of our in-house productions and the platforming of East and Southeast Asian artists. Kakilang also recently won Arts Council England’s Digital Culture Award (Storytelling) which secured our position as a pioneer in innovative digital works.

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Our Vision

Coming Together Through Art

  • We bring people together through art.

  • We build art that demands Equality.

  • We create with artists at the core.

  • We generate a space where art forms intersect, inspire, play with and talk to each other.

  • We raise awareness, and seek ways to address larger global issues, by engaging people through the arts.

Kakilang Festival 2023

In 2023 we will host our biannual Kakilang Festival from February with an exciting programme of theatre, family events, visual arts, dance, music, technology and queer cabaret. Kakilang will stage three live productions in 2023 including HOME X, presented at the Barbican as part of Kakilang Festival and touring the UK.

See the Kakilang Festival 2023’s programme