Seventy artists, collectives and projects from more than 30 countries will feature in the eleventh chapter of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) flagship exhibition series, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, opening on 30 November 2024.
Artists including Dana Awartani, Brett Graham, D Harding, Mit Jai Inn, Kikik Kollektive, Saodat Ismailova, Dawn Ng, Yeung Tong Lung and Haus Yuriyal will continue the Asia Pacific Triennial’s commitment to representing the region’s most dynamic and exciting contemporary art.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM said the much-anticipated Asia Pacific Triennial had showcased an evolving mix of the most important developments in contemporary art from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific for more than three decades.
‘As we work towards presenting an exhibition of key works acquired by QAGOMA through the thirty-year Asia Pacific Triennial series at the V&A Museum, London in early 2026, we have reflected closely on the significant cultural impact of the Triennial regionally and globally,’ Mr Saines said.
‘As with previous Triennials, the eleventh chapter will be presented throughout both QAG and GOMA and include works produced across vast geographies and cultural contexts, offering audiences a multiplicity of experiences, perspectives and diverse approaches to both contemporary and community-based customary art practices.
‘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,’ Mr Saines said.
Developed and researched by QAGOMA’s specialist Asian and Pacific curatorial team, with collaboration from co-curators and interlocutors in the region, this Triennial will feature over 500 artworks including major new commissions 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.
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said QAGOMA’s 11th Asia Pacific Triennial will provide extraordinary visual arts experiences for locals and visitors to the state and bolster Queensland’s global reputation as a leading cultural destination.
‘From across the country and the Asia Pacific region, this exhibition brings together diverse artists and collectives to share unique stories through compelling and exciting work,’ Minister Enoch said.
‘The Queensland Government invests in QAGOMA to secure and deliver internationally significant art experiences through blockbuster funding including the home-grown Triennial series, with APT10 generating almost $14 million for the local economy.
‘As one of the nation’s leading cultural institutions, QAGOMA plays an important role in growing cultural tourism and building artists’ and artsworkers’ careers ahead of Brisbane 2032, when the eyes of the world will be on Queensland’s exceptional arts and culture,’ Minister Enoch said.
Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA said this Triennial would introduce four co-curated projects highlighting contemporary art from Nepal; the region of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines; the Arnarvon Islands in the Solomon Islands; and Torba Province of Vanuatu.
‘Artists in the exhibition 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,’ Mr Nagesh said.
‘For the first time in the series, this Triennial will include artists and works from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Timor-Leste and Uzbekistan.’
Among the many highlights in the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial will be:
- A vibrant 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 a lush harvest garden in QAG’s sculpture courtyard.
- Leading 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, the work will encourage visitors to enter and explore its maze-like structures.
- An evocative installation of monumental sculptures and video by Aotearoa New Zealand artist Brett Graham. Occupying the full length of GOMA’s Long Gallery, Tai Moana Tai Tangata will represent 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 the history and culture of Iloilo, depicting a sinuous serpent deity associated with the moon alongside imagery of local figures, community traditions, ancient cultivation practices and spiritual beliefs.
- Standing by the Ruins, a stunning floor-based installation by Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia/Palestine) combining the artist’s knowledge of Islamic geometry and craft techniques with tropes of Arabic ruin poetry to address war, cultural destruction and healing.
- A mesmerising new multi-channel video installation by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng, capturing a timelapse of a large sculptural block of frozen pigment melting and disintegrating sublimely representing the ephemerality of time, beauty, destruction, love and loss.
- Innovative portraits of everyday life in Hong Kong by senior painter Yeung Tong Lung, deploying unusual perspectives with an affectionate eye for detail. The paintings range from intimate vignettes to an epic 20-metre, multi-panel panoramic view of the city.
- 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. A live music and film event with composer and musician Eiko Ishibashi.
The Triennial also includes four projects co-curated to enable a deeper investigation into rarely platformed regions, artworks and cultural contexts:
- 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. It encompasses diverse narratives across video, woodcut prints, textiles, installation, photography, music and poetry.
- Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago,co-curated with Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr with the assistance of Al-Nezzar Ali and Emi Englis. Recent customary and ceremonial works by Indigenous and Islamic communities will be shown alongside painting, video and sculpture. Highlights include abaca ‘dream weavings’ by the T’boli people, ochre paintings by Talaandig cultural leader Salima Saway Agra’an; and okir (botanic) kite sculptures by Tausug artist Rameer Tawasil, as well as works by Kiri Dalena, Adjani Arumpac, Cian Dayrit and others
- 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 innovativeweavings by artists from across five of Torba Province’s islands, curated by Dely Roy Nalo.
The Triennial will be on display from 30 November 2024 to 27 April 2025 and will be accompanied by artist talks, events and live performances, curated cinema programs, community engagement initiatives and children’s projects. For more information visit ‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’.
‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ is made possible by Founding Supporter the Queensland Government and Principal Partner Creative Australia; and is supported by Strategic Partner Tourism and Events Queensland; Principal Benefactor Haymans Electrical & Data Supplies; Asia Pacific Triennial Kids Principal Benefactor Tim Fairfax Family Foundation; Major Partners Shayher Group, Urban Art Projects and Crumpler; and Grantor the Office for the Arts, part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
Press release from Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)
Image: Kawita Vatanyankur and Pat Pataranutaporn. The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell from Cyber Labour series. 2024. Performative hologram projections with AI. Dimensions variable. Commissioned for the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial. Image courtesy of the artist and Nova Contemporary © Kawita Vatanyankur
