Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
Zhu Weibing, Ji Wenyu | People holding flowers (detail) 2007 | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2008 with funds from Michael Simcha Baevski through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
Established in 1993, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery’s flagship international contemporary art event. It is the only major series of exhibitions in the world to focus exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
Since the first Triennial in 1993, more than 1.3 million people have visited the exhibitions, peaking with more than 700 000 visitors to APT5 at the new Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery in 2006.
The first three Triennials demonstrated the diversity of contemporary art practice across the region (from Pakistan to Niue) by profiling 220 artists from 20 different countries. APT 2002 was radically different in that it considered developments in contemporary art over recent decades through in-depth explorations of 16 individual artists. APT 2006 continued to develop the model of 2002 with a strong emphasis on the Gallery’s Collections, and featured a selection of works from 35 artists and 2 multi-artist projects (a total of 66 artists) from our region across generations.
In 2009, APT6 will profile the work of over 100 artists from 25 countries in the region, including a number of artists and artist collaborations never seen in Australia before.
Internationally renowned for its collection of Contemporary Asian and Pacific art, an ongoing element of the APT series is the commissioning of new works in tandem with an acquisition program for the Gallery’s permanent Collection.
Founding Supporter: Presenting Sponsor: Principle Partners:
Assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.
Other Asia Pacific programs
The Queensland Art Gallery's ongoing commitment to the Asia Pacific Triennial and to Asian and Pacific art is reflected in its Collection, exhibitions, children's programs, research and publishing. It has also led to the establishment of the Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA) to foster alliances, scholarship and publishing.
