The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) Catalogue

The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 20 Kimiyo Mishima Japan b.1932 Paper Bag 1973–74 Ceramic / 50 x 36 x 24cm / Courtesy: The artist and MEM, Tokyo Introduction If there is an overarching theme to the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) it is, as the series’ name suggests, the art of a specific geography and timeframe. Each edition of the APT operates in a continuum, informed less by a single preoccupation of artistic direction than by sustained dialogue through a dedicated team of researchers. These guidelines are not necessarily fixed — interpretations of what constitutes the project’s continental, oceanic and temporal frameworks have shifted productively over the course of its existence — but they do imply a continuity of focus and exhibition form. As such, the basic structure of ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10) echoes that of previous editions: a large-scale museum-based triennial, curated by an in-house team and realised with staff from across the institution. Significantly, this edition further advances two trends that have been underway within the Triennial for some time. The first is to incorporate the expanded community so vital to the development of APT into the structure of the project itself; the second is to recognise the increasing significance of First Nations artists, as well as practitioners from minority communities, in debates around contemporary art across the region. Often these aims have been undertaken in tandem. Within its broader contingent of 69 projects by some 150 artists, APT10 features four co-curated sections that unite multiple practitioners and have been produced with partner organisations and the contribution of co-curators. The Australian Centre of Asian and Pacific Art (ACAPA), the Triennial’s research arm, provides the framework for further initiatives that broaden the community involved in the APT in focused and meaningful ways. The ACAPA Pasifika Community Engagement Project (ACE), co-created with a group of ten dynamic young Pacific Islanders, specifically platforms the knowledge and values of Pacific communities in south-east Queensland. In addition, APT10 has played host to the inaugural Creative New Zealand Pacific Curator Residency (Australia) with Auckland-based artist and curator Natasha Matila-Smith, and also includes learning initiatives driven by artist-in-residence Brian Fuata. An interlocutor program piloted in 2015 and expanded in 2018 has been reprised, involving an expert group of artists, curators and researchers from across Asia, the Pacific and Australia who provide advice, share knowledge and help increase cultural understanding. ACAPA seeks to capture currents of practice within the region through not only this exhibition publication but also the Asia Pacific Art Papers: Contemporary Contexts, Practices, Ideas (apap.qagoma.qld.gov.au ) — a digital publication featuring a wealth of commissioned texts exploring the unique conditions and contexts for cultural production in the Asia Pacific. Together these initiatives add a porosity of voices, recognise multiplicities and build on the APT’s continued and sustained engagement, understanding and participation in the contemporary culture of our region. Collaborative, community-focused ways of working are fundamental to the nature of many art-making contexts in the Asia Pacific region. A diversity of socially engaged projects privilege collaborative and generative processes over finished art objects for display; and, likewise, teaching and community collaboration are not simply a result of the artistic process but are its primary intention and purpose. Large groups working together in APT10 include the Bajau Sama Dilaut people in Sabah, Borneo; Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts in north- western Bangladesh; Seleka International Art Society Initiative in Tonga; and the Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions team from Aotearoa New Zealand. Other artists lead projects that rely on the participation of communities as producers of ambitious works, raising questions of the nature of representation and inclusivity while fostering agency for art-making communities for the future. Introduction Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art Reuben Keehan, Curator, Contemporary Asian Art Ruth McDougall, Curator, Pacific Art