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

VISITOR OUTREACH PROGRAM : ARTISTS, CURATORS, WRITERS OVERVI EW Extending far beyond the Queensland Art Gallery precinct, the APT3 I nternational Visitor Outreach Program offered audiences throughout Australia varied opportun ities to engage and interact with the visiting APT3 artists, critics , writers and scholars. This program l i nked at least fifty of the Triennial artists and conference speakers with u niversities , galleries, art schools, primary and high schools, artist-run spaces and community groups in cities and regional areas throughout Australia. In add ition to this program numerous organ isations, primarily i n Brisbane, hosted complementary exh ibitions and events related t o t he APT3, heighten ing the focus on contemporary Asian and Pacific art and culture. The Gallery coord inated I nternational Visitor Outreach Programs for the previous two Triennials. The 1 999 program built on partnerships developed through the previous Visitor Programs and explored new all iances . Together with the host institutions, the Gallery organ ised for the visiting artists and conference speakers to participate in varied activities wh ich include long and short term residencies, workshops, forums, youth programs, commun ity activities, university lectures , and artist talks. To cover the costs incurred by hosting these visitor residencies, organisations in a number of Queensland and regional Australian centres are collaboratively hosting artist and critic residencies. Regional Queensland was actively involved in this program with artists and critics travelling to major Queensland centres and remote areas . Flying Arts I nc. and Regional Galleries were central in coord inating these additional programs. Similarly to the 1 996 Visitor Outreach Program , Flying Arts Inc. included APT artists in their regional tours . I nd ian artist, N. S. Harsha , participating in the Southern Queensland Tou r and Vietnamese artist, Nguyen Minh Thanh, participating in the Central Queensland tour, accompanied Austral ian Flying Arts tutors to isolated Queensland towns where visual arts workshops and lectures were be presented . The artists travelled by l ight plane and car, and centres visited include Rolleston, Baralaba, Dysart, and Blackwater on the Central tour and Roma, Dalby, Toowoomba, Wee Waa and Goondiwindi on the Southern tour. Flying Arts also scheduled their 'Visual Art Experience Week' to coincide with APT3. This event brought senior students from regional Queensland to Brisbane where they participated in workshops, and were given artist talks by three APT3 artists . Noosa Regional Gallery coordinated two long-term residencies for APT3 artists . I ndian artist, Surendran Nair (and artist-wife Rekha Rodwittiya) undertook a two-month residency and Indonesian artist, Moelyono completed a six week residency. Moelyono's residency concluded with a major collaborative exhibition with local Brisbane artist, Rachel Apelt. I n Townsville, Umbrella Stud io and James Cook University worked with contemporary art group Bonemap to host the visit of Lee Wen . Apart from a number of lectures and performances, Lee Wen worked with Bonemap and produced collaborative works . They plan to undertake further collaborations in 2000. I n Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Darwin major fo rums were organised . The College of Fine Arts, Un iversity of New South Wales and Artspace in Sydney coordinated a 3-day p rogram of forms and performances . This involved eight APT artists and conference speakers . ACCA i n Melbourne hosted a forum on 'Contemporary Chinese art o f the 80s cultural d iaspora' and included Xu Bing and Chen Zhen and the key note speakers . Un iversity art colleges and primary and secondary schools in Brisbane were actively involved in the Visitor Outreach Program . Ten APT artists took part in residencies at Queensland College of Art and Queensland Un iversity of Technology. Queensland College of Art also initiated a major project involving 5 APT artists undertaking weeklong residencies with five high and primary school . These exchanges were facil itated through third year QCA students . This enabled a range of people to benefit from these residencies . A major exhibition of the worked produced by the artists, QCA students and the school students will be present. 66