1993 APT1 Conference : Identity, tradition and change

3 se lec to rs of th e c u r a to r s [es tab lishmen ts with v e s ted i n t e r e s t s don 't like th is ], or to d e lib e ra t e ly c r e a te c r o s s - c u l t u r a l team co llaboration s i tu a t io n s [some ind iv idu a lis tic , egoism-prone cu ltu re s don't favou r th is ]. The Trienna le method can work once, or maybe j u s t twice, because of the small range of a r t i s t s and types of p rac tice which have been se lec ted . But the method will need ad justmen t or if unchanged will ju s t become r e p e titiv e , un less th e unde rly ing aim of the Triennale is to i n s t i tu t io n a l i z e i t s e l f in Au s t ra lia and the AsPaC region as bo th an tipodean and s u b t e r r a n e a n Venice. If t h a t were tru e I for one pray it rap id ly inv en ts a Trienna le Aperto. The level of demand which such fu tu r e innova tion requ ire s of spec ifica lly Au s t ra lian cu ra to r s should not be ignored. The familiarity with le t alone competence in Asian languages by Au s tra lian cu ra to r s doing se lec tions is ra re , low, or nil, and the re is no sign of th is being included in fu tu r e in the job spec ifica tions of, say, jun io r cu ra to r s of in t e rn a t io n a l art. Anyone who ha s worked in an Asian a r t cu ltu re knows the range of works one ha s access to, le t alone one's und e r s tand ing of what might seem to be an eas ily in te rp r e ta b le local a r t discourse, is immeasurably advanced by lingu is tic competence. This is also the case in Asian a r t cu ltu re s where English is a lingua franca among a r t i s t s and critics . The c u ltu r a l familiarity of Au s tra lian cu ra to rs and one or two c ritic s with Asia is small bu t increasing , and p a r t of a h e a lthy lea rn ing curve of museum cu ltu re , bu t th e problem of language will no t go away and requ ire s decisive u n d e r s t an d in g and commitment to overcome it. Perhaps the Australian! Museums Assoc ia tion should apply for DEET funds to ope ra te a system of language scho la rsh ips for cu ra to rs .