The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia, 1996 : Report

CURATORIAL FRAMEWORK AND PROCESS Curatorial framework • The artists included represent contemporary visual art practice of exceptional quality. • The artists, through their work, demonstrate an engagement with contemporary life in the Asia-Pacific region. • Invitations to participate were extended to individual artists and not to artists as representatives of specific nations. • The proposals for selected artists, art works and catalogue writers were made through a fully collaborative curatorial process involving international and Australian curatorial team members. • Themes emerged following the selection of artists. Curatorial process Selections for the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial were made by a team of Australian and international curators working over a two and a half year period. This collaborative process of selection is unique to the Triennial and a critical part of its success. The Gallery built the collaborative process of the Second Triennial on the experience and contacts established by the First Triennial. Extensive research, including the development of the Asia-Pacific Artists Database and the Asia-Pacific Project Database, facilitated the consultation process which began in 1995 with two major Forums one National and one International. The Forums were hosted by the Gallery to discuss the curatorial rationale and direction of the Second Triennial and involved a total of 150 international artists, curators and academics. The second phase involved the formation of fifteen curatorial teams which included forty-two international and Australian curators. Each team comprised Australian members working directly with locally engaged curators, and focused on the art of specific geographical areas according to their expertise. Following a substantial program of visits throughout the region, the curatorial teams presented their selection of artists, artworks and writers to the Queensland Art Gallery and the National Advisory Committee in December, 1995. Through this final phase of consultation and discussion, the artists, artworks and writers were selected by the end of 1995. An extensive period of facilitation and negotiation continued from January, 1996 until the opening of the exhibition nine months later. 2