APT 2002 Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia : Report

EXHIBITION DESIGN AND INSTALLATION The design and installation of APT 2002 is spacious and elegant and, with its well considered and beautifully furnished resource and rest stations, remarkably visitor and learner-friendly. (Jonathan Mane Wheoki, Art New Zealand, No.105/Summer 2002-03) …this exhibition is marked by its presentation – so much focus on places to sit, read, and do, with the hands-on Kids’ APT looming at bright window points of the gallery. (Alison Carroll, Artlink, December 2002) … the gallery’s central video lounge is one of the best installations for time-based works I have seen in an art museum... (Dr Helen Grace, Eyeline, Summer 2002/2003) Because of the smaller number of artists this time and the ordered installation of works, a reflective space is provided to better understand the choices and coherence of the exhibition. (Helen Grace, Eyeline, Summer 2002/2003) The provision of supporting material alongside the works allows the audience a choice of simply looking or of reading backwards and forwards between the works and the more considered account of them. (This is an inspired aspect of the show, and one which gifts to the audience an opportunity to remake the show with each viewing). (Helen Grace, Eyeline, Summer 2002/2003) … slickly designed and comprehensively documented. (Louise Martin-Chew, Weekend Australian, 28 September 2002). OPENING If there is a gala event on the national visual arts calendar, it has to be the opening of the Asia-Pacific Triennial in Brisbane. (Julianne Pierce, Real Time, December – January 2003) The Queensland Art Gallery celebrates this major exhibition in style, with an infectious sense of generosity and bonhomie. (Julianne Pierce, Real Time, December – January 2003). Half of Brisbane turned out last Thursday night for the launch of the fourth Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. (Michael Hutak, Bulletin with Newsweek, 24 September 2003) … the enthusiasm of crowds attending the opening event and the Pasifika Divas performance two days later demonstrated that none of the gloss has worn off the Queensland Art Gallery’s major triennial event. (David Broker, Broadsheet. Vol 31 No 4) OPENING PUBLIC PROGRAM APT 2002 achieved a much better balance, with artists’ talks of consistently high quality and fewer, more selective formal lectures, also of consistently high quality. (Helen Grace, Eyeline, Summer 2002/2003). PUBLIC PROGRAMS I cannot remember feeling so well ’serviced’ by an exhibition. The viewer of all ages is welcomed, educated even cosseted. (Stuart Koop, Eyeline, Summer 2002/2003). …the QAG provides many innovations to assist the public in its appreciation of the works; innovations that should be mandatory for any like art institution. (Michael Hutak, Bulletin with Newsweek, 24 September 2002). This exhibition is curated in-house, with the expertise the Queensland Art Gallery has accumulated during the past nine years, and the public program is much more focused on the art, with artist talks and workshops its principal component. (Louise Martin-Chew, Weekend Australian, 28 September 2002). OTHER There is a finely balanced mix of disciplines across this triennial, and none is allowed to dominate. (Peter Hill, Age 18 September 2002) It is resoundingly Not Bad in the quality of its exhibits; it has a balanced mix of old and new, and a range of work that travels from the gigantic floral decorations of Michael Ming Hong Lin (Taiwan) to the tiny, grim, introspective drawings of Jose Legaspi (Philippines). (John McDonald, Australian Financial Review, 19 September 2002). Says one Sydney gallerist: “This is the one contemporary show that’s actually popular”. (Michael Hutak, Bulletin with Newsweek, 24 September 2002). … a celebration of cultural variety and a stimulating conflation of languages, styles and spirit. (Louise Martin-Chew, Weekend Australian, 28 September 2002). Ten years ago, the Queensland Art Gallery inspired cultural exploration and development at its Asia-Pacific Triennial. (Robert Nelson, Age, 28 December 2002) 66