Results of the Asian Art Awards Award Ceremony at Edinburgh City Chambers on 25^th August 2026

Hundreds of Asian artists from dozens of Fringe shows gathered at the City Chambers on the evening of the 25^th of August to see who the winners would be in the Asian Art Awards for 2026.  With so much international talent on the Fringe programme it was no surprise that 2026 was another vintage year and, with the majority of winners still in town to collect their awards in person, there is still time to see most of them. The awards were presented by Richard Lewis of the Asian Art Awards and Chris Snow of the Fringe and in partnership with WU Asia Pacific of Queen Street.

The irresistible “2Shoulderpads: Galaxy Train” from Japan won Outstanding Show for their zany poetic musical based on Japanese classical literature. Their only costume is … two shoulder pads each. “The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half” were one of the runners up, winning over the reviewing team with their talent, upbeat attitude and message of Peace.

It was also a strong year for Scottish representation. The Outstanding Youth Show award was won by Our Town Needs a Nando’s with the all-Scottish and all-female cast bringing tremendous energy and fun to the stage. Scottish Tamil actress Lovely Selwyn burst into tears on receiving her award and sobbed “this is our Oscar”! Outstanding Drama award was won by Tether with a cast from Scotland and Korea while the Outstanding Children’s Show award was won by “Shhh! (A Wordless Comedy)” from Vietnam but with one of the three cast members originally from Scotland. Finally, a Highly Commended award was received in the Youth category by the Edinburgh-based Nikkan Dance Academy for their show “Kahi: The Inner Us – Explore the Soul”, bringing traditional Indian dance to the Fringe

Japanese Grandma Funeral starring Japanese American Kento Morita won best comedy, while the Outstanding Individual Performance was won by Cheeyang Ng from Singapore with her show Legendary, a musical seamlessly blending Chinese mythology and queer legacy. Outstanding Dance Show was won by Samurai and Oiran, again from Japan.

The Asian Arts Special Award was won by The Lady Prince Consort, a classic Chinese opera about a young wife who disguises herself as a man (Mulan-style) to save her husband, with (almost) tragic consequences. In spite of being performed in Mandarin with subtitles, it was beautiful and hilariously funny and sadly only played for one night at the Queens Hall.

The Asian Art Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe have been running since 2014 with a vision of bringing Asian artists together to celebrate and promote their talents. At a time of rising tensions between east and west, art plays a vital role in bringing nations and communities together.

Winners – 2026 Asian Art Awards

Outstanding Show

Winner: 2ShoulderPads: Galaxy Train, 2ShoulderPads. (Japan)

Highly Commended:

• The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half, Underbelly and The Palestinian Circus with Medical Aid for Palestine (Palestine)
• YOAH, Underbelly, Cirquework and Cluster Arts (Japan)

Outstanding Musical or Comedy Show

Winner: Japanese Grandma Funeral, Kento Morita. (USA)

Highly Commended:

• Hater, Brava Guava, UK
• Olivia Xing: Baby of Colour., Olivia Xing. (China)

Outstanding Dance Show

Winner: Samurai and Oiran, Asakusa Kaguwa (Japan)

Highly Commended:

Strange Tales from Liaozhai, Yuerge Dance Theatre / Shanghai International Dance Center Theater. (China)

Outstanding Drama

Winner: Tether, Wonder Fools and Theatre SAN (Scotland/Republic of Korea)

Highly Commended:

• LANDSFRAU, Doris Crea Collective (Performed by Mariann Yar) (Germany)
• Olympic Hopefuls, in vivo Productions (USA)
• Why English?, Vibhinna Ramdev (India)

Outstanding Youth Show

Winner: Our Town Needs a Nando’s, Hot Mess Productions (Scotland)

Highly Commended:

• Kahi, The Inner Us – Explore the Soul, Nikkan Dance Academy, (India/Scotland)

Outstanding Children’s Show

Winner: Shhh! (A Wordless Comedy), Lang Spot Vietnam (Vietnam)

Outstanding Individual Performance

Winner: Cheeyang Ng, Legendary(Singapore)

Highly Commended:

• Seonju Jang, The Renaissance of Spring: Samsara and Shroop Directed and Choreographed by Yu-mi Kim. Jajack Movement and the Art Support & Incubation Dept., GGCF (Republic of Korea)
• Emma Tsoi, He Wants Kids, She Doesn’t, BF Productions. (Hong Kong)
• Aarushi Agni, EMOJI: The Hieroglyphs Of Our Time…. (USA)

Asian Arts Special Award

Winner: The Lady Prince Consort Anqing Zaifen Huangmei Opera Theatre (China)

Highly Commended:

• R/evolution(s), Dance Base Yokohama/Conan Amok (Japan)

Also shortlisted was The Princess Gives Her Lover a Sword by Guangdong Chao Opera Institute (China)