Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, 1999 : Beyond the future : Report.

GEOGRAPH ICAL SCOPE OF REGIONAL TEAMS Geograph ical scope was extended where possible. The Curatorial Teams determined the final l ist of countries as fol lows: • East Asia • Southeast Asia • South Asia • Pacific China Including Hong Kong Japan South Korea Taiwan Philippines Thailand Malaysia Singapore Vietnam Indonesia India Pakistan Sri Lanka Pacific New Caledon ia New Zealand N iue Wallis + Futuna Islands Papua New Guinea Australia SUMMARY OF CURATORIAL PROCESS A. Prelimi nary Meeti ngs for each Curatorial Team (February 1 998) • International Co-curators appointed to each Curatorial Team l iaised closely with the Australian Curators towards the recommendation of artists, artworks and catalogue writers . The number of international Co-curators for each country ranging from one to three. The intimate understanding and knowledge that these curators bring to the project is critical to the project's success. • In February 1 998, a series of Preliminary Forums for the four Regional Teams were held at the Queensland Art Gallery wherein all participating Australian curators joined eight international curators to d iscuss and define the curatorial approach to be adopted by each Curatorial Team and to debate possible themes . Different emphases emerged with in each of the four Regional Teams. The South Asian Team adopted a fully collaborative approach rather than separating into country based Teams and it was agreed that curators, artists and writers be included from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Southeast Asian Team responded d i rectly to the financial and social crises confronting cultural practitioners in the region . The East Asian Team responded to the recent pol itical changes in the region and to a focus on the manipulation of new technologies within current practice. The Pacific Team decided on a sh ift of scope from previous Trienn ials and to concentrate on the art of lesser known areas such as N iue, Wallis and Futuna islands, additionally, the concept of including Pacific 'shrines' was raised at this early stage. • The Crossing Borders Team of international and Australian curators met only once i n February. The parameters of Crossing Borders as a new curatorial avenue with in APT3 and t he work of over 50 artists were d iscussed a t t h i s stage. It was agreed that artists selected through th is avenue could be recommended not only by Crossing Borders curators, but also by Regional Team curators. Submissions for Crossing Borders artists and artworks were received from Crossing Borders Curators and Regional Curators prior to the August Curatorial Presentation Meetings. Eventually, eight of the nineteen Crossing Borders artists were recommended by Regional Tearn Curators and were considered closely in relation to the artists selected by Regional Teams, emphasising the flu id ity of the curatorial structure. 49