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When the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) started in 1993, the global relationship with this region was a very different one, and especially so for Australia. It was a time when then Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating was deepening the focus of Australia’s foreign policies on Asia, and global economic bonds were at the top of the list for many nations.
It was also a time when cultural connections started to become more formalised. Asialink was established in 1989, the Asia-Australia Institute in 1990 and 4A Asian Australian Artists’ Association in 1997 – to name but a few cultural shifters.
Another one, was this APT exhibition, curated by the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane. With its launch in 1993, it caught the eye of curators internationally, and was at the crest of the wave of a biennale boom globally.
The Triennial continued to be groundbreaking in laying the foundations for regional relationships over the next 30 years, debuting many artist who went on to become leaders on the global art stage and one of the most critical exhibitions that looks at contemporary practice in this region.
Testament to the reach of the exhibition, Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said that the last edition, APT10 generated almost AU$14 million (7.3 million pounds) for the local economy, adding, ‘QAGOMA plays an important role in growing cultural tourism and building artists’ and arts workers’ careers ahead of Brisbane 2032, when the eyes of the world will be on Queensland’s exceptional arts and culture.’
This week, QAGOMA announced the 70 artists that would shape its next edition, APT11, opening 30 November. So what then does this next crop of artists say across, and to, that network?
Who are the artists?
Drawn from over 30 countries, this edition’s group of artists ‘consider knowledge in its many forms, following thematic threads such as care for natural and urban environments, intergenerational experiences of migration and labour, and nuanced approaches to storytelling, materials and technique,’ said Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA.
For the first time across the Triennial’s history, visitors will see works from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Timor-Leste and Uzbekistan.
Major new commissions will be delivered by artists Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Trương Công Tùng, Paemanu Contemporary Art Collective, ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group, Mele Kahalepuna Chun and Mai Nguyễn-Long.
Among the 500 works on show, Nagesh announced some highlights:
– A multi-part project by Haus Yuriyal, a collective of 28 artists living and working in Jiwaka/Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, led by Brisbane-based artist Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman. Kuman (fighting shields) paintings, carved tree fern sculptures, embroideries and a range of innovative bilum designs will be shown alongside a video picture house and harvest garden in QAG’s sculpture courtyard.
– Thai artist Mit Jai Inn’s three-dimensional installation, reimagining painting and abstraction in a dramatic interactive environment on the QAG Watermall, with suspended tunnels, cascading curtains and towering scroIls.
– An evocative installation of monumental sculptures and video by Aotearoa New Zealand artist Brett Graham occupying the full length of GOMA’s Long Gallery, looking at the relationship between Taranaki and Tainui Māori, and the pact of solidarity they forged during the New Zealand Wars.
– A large-scale mural by Kikik Kollektive from Iloilo Province in the central Philippines. Tul-an sang aton kamal-aman (Bones of our elders) will reframe the stories that have formed community traditions, ancient cultivation practices and spiritual beliefs.
– Standing by the Ruins, a stunning floor-based installation by Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia/Palestine) combining Islamic geometry and craft techniques to address war, cultural destruction and healing.
– A new multi-channel video installation by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng, capturing a timelapse of a large sculptural block of frozen pigment melting and representing the ephemerality of time, beauty, destruction, love and loss.
– Innovative portraits of everyday life in Hong Kong by senior painter Yeung Tong Lung, from intimate vignettes to an epic 20-metre, multi-panel panoramic view of the city.
There will also be five Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema programs exploring central Asian cinema and futurism on screen, alongside comprehensive career surveys of prominent film directors Tsai Ming-liang, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Kamila Andini.
APT11 focus areas
Nagesh said this Triennial would introduce four co-curated projects that introduce new regional practice to the history of the exhibition, consistent with past editions.
The Brisbane-based team has worked collaboratively with co-curators and interlocutors in the region, to deliver these projects of current and important work. ‘Over the past three years our specialist curatorial team, led by Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, Tarun Nagesh, have shown an unrelenting commitment to on-the ground, in-country research in order to select artists who reflect a diverse and authentic cross-section of the region’s artistic production,’ said QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM.
The focus projects are:
- TAMBA, a project co-curated with Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, and featuring artists, activists and Indigenous communities from Nepal and the surrounding region.
- Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, co-curated with Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr with the assistance of Al-Nezzar Ali and Emi Englis.
- An immersive sound and video installation created by Dreamcast Theatre and the KAWAKI women’s collective from The Solomon Islands, co-developed with The Nature Conservancy to highlight KAWAKI’s ongoing relationship to their natural environment and custodianship of the Arnavon Islands.
- A showcase of customary and innovative weavings by artists from across five of Torba Province’s islands, in Vanuatu, curated by Dely Roy Nalo.
What this year’s artist list reveals
While the earlier editions typically looked at Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam), North Asia (Japan, China, Korea) and South Asia (India and Pakistan), over the years that lens on the “Asian world” expanded greatly.
For this edition there are two projects from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, two from Mongolia, and four projects from China, one from Hong Kong and two from Taiwan.
The APT is increasingly engaging in the Pacific, this year presenting projects from Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and four projects from New Zealand – totalling nine projects.
Sliding east, there is a project from Papua New Guinea and three from Timor-Leste. Southeast Asia continues to have the largest contingent of projects, including five from Vietnam, two from Singapore, three from Malaysia, two from the Philippines and one each from Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia – a total of 15.
Heading further east again, a fresh inclusion are two projects from Sri Lanka, and two from Hawaii, with a strong regional representation with three projects from India, two from Bangladesh, and one each from Nepal and Pakistan.
Looking south and north, there are three projects from Japan and one from South Korea. Iran and Saudi Arabia – both included in the past, and always feeling a little odd in the context – are offering two projects each.
And Australia? Nine projects in total, five of which are by First Nations artists.
APT11 will be on display from 30 November to 27 April 2025 and will be accompanied by artist talks, events, live performances, curated cinema programs, community engagement initiatives and children’s projects.
The full list of artists
Kim Ah Sam Kalkadoon, Kuku Yalanji people. b.1967, Brisbane, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane (illustrated)
Bernice Akamine, Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. 1949-2024 / Lived and worked in Hawai‘i
Tully Arnot, b.1984, Gadigal Sydney, Australia / Lives and works in Hong Kong
Ataúro woodcarvers, Ataúro, Timor‑Leste
AWA (Artists for Waiapu Action), est. 2023 Aotearoa New Zealand / Live and work in Te Tai Rawhiti, East Coast Ngāti Porou homelands and Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand
Dana Awartani, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, b.1987, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia / Lives and works in Jeddah and New York, US
Abdul Halik Azeez, b.1985, Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka / Lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka
William Bakalevu, b.1961, Suva, Fiji / Lives and works in Nakorolevu, Namara Tailevu, Fiji
Nadiah Bamadhaj, b.1968, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia / Lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
BOLOHO, est. 2019, Guangzhou, China / Live and work in Guangzhou
Bùi Công Khánh, b.1972, Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hội An and Bát Trang, Việt Nam
Etson Caminha, b.1984, Lospalos, Timor-Leste / Lives and works in Dili, Timor‑Leste
CAMP, est. 2007, Mumbai, India / Live and work in Mumbai
Szelit Cheung, b.1988, Hong Kong / Lives and works in Hong Kong
Masaya Chiba, b.1980, Yokohama, Japan / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
Mele Kahalepuna Chun, Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. b.1969, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i / Lives and works in Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Chung Seoyoung, b.1964, Seoul, South Korea / Lives and works in Seoul
Community Partner Program, South-East Queensland
Karla Dickens, Wiradjuri, Irish and German heritage. b.1967, Gadigal land Sydney, Australia / Lives and works on Bundjalung Country in Goonellabah, Lismore, Australia
Dulguun Baatarsukh, b.1984, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar
Ana Estrada, Nasrikah, Okui Lala, Ana Estrada b.1984, Mexico City, Mexico / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia; Nasrikah b.1979, Tulungagung, Indonesia / Lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Okui Lala b.1991, George Town, Malaysia / Lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Harold “Egn” Eswar, b.1980, Keningau, Malaysia / Lives and works in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
‘Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group, ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki b.1972, Vava’u, Tonga / Lives and works in Vava’u; Lepamahanga Women’s Group est. 2016, Tu’anuku Village, Vava’u
Angela Goh, b.1986, Canberra, Australia / Lives and works in Sydney, Australia
Brett Graham, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui. b.1967, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Waiuku, Aotearoa New Zealand
Ishu Han, b.1987, Shanghai, China / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
D Harding, Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal people. b.1982, Moranbah, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia
Abolfazl Harouni, b.1998, Karaj, Iran / Lives and works in Tehran, Iran
Haus Yuriyal, est. 2015, Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea / Live and work in Jiwaka and Simbu Provinces, Papua New Guinea
Shahla Hosseini, b.1954, Tehran, Iran / Lives and works in Tehran
Katsuko Ishigaki, b.1967, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan / Lives and works in Naha and Okinawa City, Okinawa
Saodat Ismailova, b.1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan / Lives and works in Paris, France and Tashkent
Mit Jai Inn, b.1960, Chiang Mai, Thailand / Lives and works in Chiang Mai
Madina Kasimbaeva, b.1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan / Lives and works in Tashkent
Kawaki and Dreamcast Theatre, Kawaki est. 2016, Arnavons, Solomon Islands / Live and work in Katupika, hoiseul Province, Wagina, and Kia, Isabel Province, Solomon Islands; Dreamcast Theatre est. 2005 Honiara, Solomon Islands / Live and work in Honiara
Kikik Kollektive, est. 2017, Iloilo province, The Philippines / Live and work in Iloilo province
Laresa Kosloff, b.1974, Naarm Melbourne, Australia/ Lives and works in Naarm Melbourne
Zac Langdon‑Pole, b.1988 Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Lê Giang, b.1988, Hà Nội, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hà Nội
Lê Thuý, b.1988, Thanh Hóa, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hội An, Việt Nam
Jeremy Leatinu’u Ngāti Maniapoto, Safune, Puʻapuʻa, Vailoa, Fatausi, Safotu, Safotulafai Samoa. b.1984, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau
Charles Lim Yi Yong, b.1973, Singapore / Lives and works in Singapore
Muhlis Lugis, b.1987, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia / Lives and works in Makassar
Eleng Luluan, Rukai people. b.1968, Haocha (Kuchapungan) community, Pingtung County, Taiwan / Lives and works in Dawu, Pingtung County
Rithika Merchant, b.1986, Mumbai, India / Lives and works in Mumbai, India and Barcelona, Spain
Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, co-curated with Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr with the assistance of Al-Nezzar Ali and Emi Alexander Englis
Filwa Nazer, b.1972, Swansea, UK / Lives and works in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Dawn Ng, b.1982, Singapore / Lives and works in Singapore
Mai Nguyễn‑Long, Việt Nam / Australia b.1970, Tasmania, Australia / Lives and works in Bulli, Dharawal Country, Australia
Nomin Bold and Ochirbold Ayurzana, Nomin Bold b.1982, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar; Ochirbold Ayurzana b.1976, Sukhbaatar Province, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar
Oecussi woodcarvers, Oecussi-Ambeno, Timor‑Leste
Haji Oh, b.1976, Osaka, Japan / Lives and works in Wollongong, Dharawal Country, Australia
Paemanu Kāi Tahu, est. 2009, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand / Live and work in Ōtautahi, Ōtepoti, Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa New Zealand
Sarker Protick, b.1986, Dhaka, Bangladesh / Lives and works in Dhaka
Joydeb Roaja, Tripura people. b.1973, Kagrachari, Bangladesh / Lives and works in Kagrachari and Chittagong, Bangladesh
Varunika Saraf, b.1981, Hyderabad, India / Lives and works in Hyderabad
Albert Yonathan Setyawan, b.1983 Bandung, Indonesia / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
Wardha Shabbir, b.1987, Lahore, Pakistan / Lives and works in Lahore (illustrated)
Hema Shironi, b.1991, Kandy, Sri Lanka / Lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Darrell Sibosado, Bard people. b.1966, Marapikurrinya/Port Hedland, Australia / Lives and works in Lombadina, Australia
Sancintya Mohini Simpson, b.1991, Brisbane, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane
TAMBA, co-curated with Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, Nepal and surrounding region
Jasmine Togo‑Brisby, Australian South Sea Islander. b.1982, Murwillumbah, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia
Torba Weavers, co-curated by Dely Roy Nalo with the assistance of David Nalo, Torba Province, Vanuatu
Trương Công Tùng, b.1986, Đăk Lăk, Central Highlands, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hồ Chí Minh City, Việt Nam
Alexander Ugay, b.1978, Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan / Lives and works in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Seoul, South Korea
Kawita Vatanajyankur with Pat Pataranutaporn, Kawita Vatanajyankur b.1987, Bangkok, Thailand / Lives and works in Bangkok; Pat Pataranutaporn b.1995, Boston, US / Lives and works in Boston
Wang Tuo, b.1984, Changchun, China / Lives and works in Beijing, China
Yeung Tong Lung, b.1956, Fujian, China / Lives and works in Hong Kong
Yim Maline, b.1982, Battambang, Cambodia / Lives and works in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Zhang Xu Zhan, b.1988, Taipei, Taiwan / Lives and works in Taipei
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