Split Works agrees long-term Arcadia deal for China

Shanghai-based promoter Split Works has agreed a long-term deal to represent British performance art collective Arcadia in China, with the iconic fire-breathing ‘Spider’ installation set to make its debut in China this new year.

Kicking off the ten-year agreement, Split Works has inked a three-year deal which will see Arcadia’s monumental Spider stage at the ISY Music Festival in Sanya on the island of Hainan over 30–31 December.

“The Arcadia Spider is an extraordinary, otherworldly experience – and the perfect fit for ISY, China’s most revolutionary EDM festival,” says Fay Wang, vice-president of China Minsheng Cultural Media Sanya, one of the backers of the festival, in a statement. “We love to push the boundaries of programming and talent, and the Spider is another (50-tonne) feather in our cap.”

Since making its first appearance at Glastonbury Festival over a decade ago, Arcadia’s Spider has travelled the globe, thrilling music fans at the likes of Ultra Miami, as well as in Thailand, Taiwan and in Australia.

“We can’t wait to bring more of Arcadia’s extraordinary shows to the China market”

The potential for growth in China is immense, and Split Works managing director Archie Hamilton predicts big things for Arcadia in the world’s most populous country.

“Arcadia pushes the boundaries of what live music can achieve,” she says. “It’s sheer magic, and we can’t wait to bring more of Arcadia’s extraordinary shows to the China market.”

With Hamilton and his team enabling, licensing and executing Arcadia’s immersive installations for events all over the Chinese mainland, he believes all of the group’s assets will quickly be put to use at Chinese festivals and events. As of 2018, Arcadia owns four stages, each with its own unique performance stage: the Spider, the Afterburner, the Reactor and the Bug.

Arcadia hosted its first standalone festival earlier this summer, coinciding with Glastonbury’s traditional fallow year.

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