11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Asia Pacific Triennial Kids provides an opportunity for artists to develop interactive projects for children and their families. Designing children’s projects is often a new experience for artists, and the suggestion can be met with uncertainty, curiosity, enthusiasm, or a combination of all three. Developed in collaboration with the Children’s Art Centre for the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial, seven projects by exhibiting artists based in Malaysia, India, Aotearoa New Zealand, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia and Timor-Leste engage children and their families with diverse cultures and ideas from across the region. Projects by Okui Lala and Yim Maline empower children to be artistic contributors. In Okui’s video project, ‘Have you ever tried to listen to the sound of Brisbane?’ 2024, children share their experiences of growing up in multilingual households and neighbourhoods, while in Yim’s drawing project, A Dream for the Future 2024, children illustrate their hopes and dreams. Dana Awartani’s Unity Within Multiplicity 2024 explores sacred geometry as a way of reflecting on the diversity and commonalities found in nature and humanity, while Brett Graham’s Wakuwaku 2024 highlights pattern-making and the importance of the natural world and cultural history. Etson Caminha inspires children to look at familiar objects in new ways in My Kitchen Sounds 2024, while Rithika Merchant invites children to envision a new world in If the Seeds Chose Where to Grow 2024. Harold ‘Egn’ Eswar also encourages children to unleash their imaginations in Monster of Wants 2024. The mascot for this Triennial is a two-headed ‘monster of wants’ based on a drawing by Egn’s daughter, Hana, and is named Mahu, meaning ‘want’ in Malay. Mahu is a playful character who embodies children’s creativity. ASIAPACIFIC TRIENNIAL KIDS Asia Pacific Triennial Kids mascot, Mahu, based on a drawing by Harold ‘ Egn ʼ Eswar ʼ s daughter, Hana; (opposite, above) Okui Lala / The Sounds of Brisbane (video still) 2024; (opposite, below) Dana Awartani / Unity Within Multiplicity (installation view, GOMA, 2024) / Commissioned for Asia Pacific Triennial Kids with support from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation KIDS 234 — 235 ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL