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

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE OF ASIA-PACIFIC ART (ACAPA) Professor Wu Hung delivering keynote lecture with Director Doug Hall as Chair, 13 September 2002 OVERVIEW The Australian Centre of Asia-Pacific Art (ACAPA) is a major initiative of the Queensland Art Gallery and is integral to plans for the new Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, opening in 2005. The Queensland Government has supported the Centre’s establishment through its funding of the new Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. ACAPA reflects on the Gallery’s work over the past decade of establishing recognised expertise in collecting, presenting and interpreting contemporary art of the Asia-Pacific region. Through its partnerships and alliances, ACAPA will serve as a base for new initiatives concerning contemporary Asia-Pacific art, and will provide an important research and training platform for artists, independent curators, scholars and museum professionals. Since initiating the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in the early 1990s, the Queensland Art Gallery has become a leader in collecting and presenting contemporary artwork of the region. The Gallery’s leadership and expertise in the field of contemporary Asian and Pacific art was recognised as one of its major strategic strengths. The establishment and further development of this new Centre is a logical and strategic extension of the past decade’s achievements. ACAPA will be a dedicated area of programming, research and expertise within the Gallery. The Centre will focus on publishing, residencies, internships and symposia for artists, curators, academics and artsworkers in order to promoting research, dialogue and understanding in the field of Asia-Pacific art. ACAPA will work extensively with colleagues in the field and will further strategic alliances with key museums, organisations and networks. ACAPA’s announcement was celebrated as part of the opening program of events for the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) 2002 in September 2002. ASPECTS OF APT 2002 SUPPORTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE OF ASIA-PACIFIC ART (ACAPA): 1. Catalogue The publishing of the ‘APT 2002: Asia-Pacific of Contemporary Art’, a full-colour, 160 page publication that accompanied the exhibition. 2. Lectures APT 2002 keynote lectures were presented under the auspices of ACAPA during the APT 2002 Opening Events as follows: • Professor Wu Hung ‘Thinking through exhibitions: experimental Chinese art and ‘experimental exhibitions’ of Chinese art’ • Professor Kim Hong-hee 'Nam June Paik and Korean Shamanism' • Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku ‘Soul Textured Stories: Pattern & Text in the Art On Pacific Skin’ • Dr Nikos Papastergiadis ‘South-South-South’ • Lee Mingwei ‘Talk on artist’s own work including ‘Writing the Unspoken’ (included in APT3 in 1999) 3. APT 2002 Anthology (working title) The forthcoming APT 2002 Anthology (working title) will include a selection of papers and lectures by more than 20 key international and Australian artists, curators and scholars presented as part of APT 2002 Opening Events and Public Programs. This full-colour publication will be published under the auspices of ACAPA in late 2003. 84