Step Out Arts

Jih-Wen Yeh - founder and executive producer

About

Jih-Wen Yeh (trading as Step Out Arts) is a UK and international independent producer with over 18 years' experience of supporting both UK and Taiwanese dance artists and organisations to realise their performance projects.

Jih-Wen specialises in:

• Working with artists and organisations from initial idea to development and final realisation and outcome of projects and events

• Budgeting and fundraising

• Bespoke project strategic delivery

• Partnership brokering both nationally and internationally

• Curating programmes by working to project briefs

• Project management

Current Commissioners

Cultural Division, Taipei Representative Office in The UK

Role and responsibility: curating ‘Taiwan Season Online Symposium - Connecting With Taiwan’ 2020 - 2023.

Project Producer

The Place

Role and responsibility: Project-based senior producer and co-curator for a two-year Taiwan pilot project at The Place.

Current International partners

Taiwan Season (TS) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Zhong He Creative International Co., Ltd. Taiwan since 2015 to date and funding from the Ministry of Culture,Taiwan.

Role and responsibilities: executive producer; oversee budget and monitor spending; facilitate programme selection process; find appropriate venues in Edinburgh for promoting TS programme; oversee and implement PR & marketing; liaise with Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society on all relevant information and logistical matters; project management and artists' support to make sure as smooth a delivery at the Fringe as possible.

Dance Base (Scotland) and B.DANCE (Taiwan)

'Infinite Life Journey’ is a two-year UK/Taiwan inclusive dance project co-created by Dance Base and B. DANCE. Focusing on a 55+ community group, featuring intergenerational participants and aimed at an intergenerational audience, it is funded by British Council and National Culture and Arts Foundation Taiwan for 2022 (Taiwan) and 2023 (UK).

Role and responsibilities: project co-planning; co-writing the funding application; attending shortlisted virtual presentation in Taiwan; producing the project and ensuring its smooth delivery.

Professional training

2023 - Awarded by Arts Council England bursary to attend The Anthony Field Academy and the Manchester 2023 ISPA Congress.

2018 - IETM (international network for contemporary performing arts) for International Networking 2018, funded by the British Council.

2015 - Edinburgh Festival Producer Trainee, funded by the British Council.

2012-13 - One of five Escalator Dance Producers, funded by Arts Council England.

Awards

National Presence, The Infallible Awards 2020

Held throughout the month of August during what would ordinarily have been the live Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 'Taiwan Season 2020 Online Symposium - Connecting with Taiwan' won one of The Infallible Awards in the category 'National Presence.'

Relevant quotes:

''This year the jury decided unanimously to establish a new category: that of a Fringe 'National Presence' which has shown the most artistically intelligent approach to lockdown restrictions by managing, in a most difficult year for the Edinburgh Fringe, to embrace and exploit - in the very best sense - the online format via a series of fascinating and thematically varied webinars and stimulating artist interviews.''

''...brought the spirit of the Fringe alive this month more than anybody else.'' - Amy Saunders, Head of Participants Services at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

''The crisis and the cancellation of the live performances brought those ideas forward as the pair quickly put together a digital program of cultural close encounters.'' - David Mead, Taipei Times

Project management and production

Produced Taiwan Season, Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2015 to date. In 2020 Jih-Wen developed a further strand of programming called ‘Taiwan Season Online Symposium - Connecting with Taiwan’. In total this edition of Taiwan Season included our online artist interviews, eight webinars plus one 'pitching' session for international programmers and presenters.

Music In Detention producer for Bedford Creative Arts from 2015-19 with an intimate knowledge of the region and its community.

Set up a two-year artist development programme (funded by Arts Council England) to support the visibility and sustainability of the British East Asian dance sector (2009-11).

As Artistic Consultant for Westminster Council, set up and project managed Chinese Art Now (2004-08).

Promoting Chinese Culture in the UK by curating bespoke educational packages and touring programmes to fit schools' needs. This includes working with National Maritime Museum since 1999 and, since 2016, the Museum of London Docklands to curate their Lunar New Year programme.

Additionally, Jih-Wen Yeh has represented such UK and Taiwan independent artists including Pell Ensemble, Si Rawlinson, Julia Cheng, Robin Dingemans, Victor Fung, Dam Van Huynh, Rhiannon Faith, Kuo-Shin Chuang Pangcah Dance Theatre and Resident Island Dance Theatre.