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

OVERVIEW The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art was presented at the Queensland Art Gallery from 27 September 1 996 to 1 9 January 1 997. The exhibition builds on and expands the significant success of the First Asia-Pacific Triennial by doubling the attendance numbers (from 60,000 i n 1 993 to 1 20 ,000 in 1 996) and with a much larger number of artists, curators, scholars and countries involved. As the Gallery's Di rector, Doug Hall , said, the Triennial project: . . . has created a cross-Asian dialogue of a kind not experienced previously. [It] . . . has become a catalyst for rethinking the art from Asia and the Pacific and its place internationally at the end of the millennium. The Queensland Art Gallery undertook the Asia-Pacific Triennial to introduce Australian audiences to the diversity of the contemporary Asian and Pacific art. The purpose was to increase cultu ral understanding and to establish a basis for further cultural exchange. The Second Triennial was a truly national and i nternational project and engaged an extensive number of professionals who worked closely with Gallery staff. The Triennial provides an international forum for continuing dialogue and creates opportunities for professional relationships based on mutual respect. The i nternational response to the Asia-Pacific Triennial has exceeded the Gallery's initial expectations. The Triennial has been recognised as a project of international significance, redressing a lack of understanding and knowledge in the West of the contemporary art of Asia and the Pacific. Deputy Director Dr Caroline Turner has stated : The Queensland Art Gallery recognises t he great and enduring achievements of the historical art of the region and that contemporary societies are shaped by historical circumstances. It is, however, the contemporary art of the region which reflects the changing nature of contemporary societies in the Asia-Pacific region . Today's contemporary art is a product of tradition , past historical and cultural encounters, continuing cross cultural influences and the recent economic, technological and i nformation changes which have pushed the world to a g lobal culture and g reatly accelerated those changes. The First Asia-Pacific Triennial, presented at the Queensland Art Gallery i n 1 993, proved to be a groundbreaking event. It was the first exhibition in the world to b ring together the contemporary art of Asia and the Pacific. The success of the First Triennial was recognised by critics at the time. In the Bangkok Post, 4 November 1 993, Thai art critic Dr Api nan Poshyananda noted: This challenging exhibition has 'bulldozed' contemporary art from the Asia­ Pacific onto the world arena. The Gallery greatly appreciates the generous support of numerous organisations which individually have contributed to the success of various aspects of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial. The Second Triennial attracted highly significant media interest from Asia, the Pacific, Europe and North America. The media preview was held on 26 September, 3