Beyond the Future: Papers from the Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

communication , as well as the worldwide problem of environmental and ecological devastation, was affecting art and artists in the region and putting cultural traditions at continuing risk. However, while the present tensions of East Timar and the possible future tensions of the region were evident at the Conference, the most significant fact about the APT3 Conference was the unity which rose beyond such issues. If delegates did not agree entirely on what the future might bring, they were united in wanting a better, more peaceful, more humane future for the region and humanity. This was exemplified in the closing session of the Conference: the artists' wishes for the future. H istorian Dipesh Chakrabarty 4 refers to 'pluralist possibilities' for the future; and this phrase aptly sums up the overwhelmingly agreed lines of discussion at the APT3 Conference 'Beyond the Future'. As several speakers, including those in the key session on globalisation , pointed out, there can be and are d ifferent models for modernity and also for different futures. Postmodernist poet John Ashberry has noted that :'Tomorrow is easy, but today is uncharted .' Today is still uncharted for the Asia-Pacific region but what has been learned from the APT3 Conference 'Beyond the Future' is that art cannot be separated from the dramatic changes underway in the region today, whatever tomorrow will bring. The art in the Triennials has emphasized art about societal change and the personal idealism of the artists (which in turn has greatly affected audiences) to contribute to their communities building new and better futures. That there have been and continue to be great inequal ities in the region and in its possible futures is a critical factor, especially for countries such as Australia in hosting these events. Tomorrow, nevertheless, is easy for the APT project - it is to extend the concept of 'Crossing Borders' so that the APT becomes more and more about cultural meetings based on mutual respect and to create more opportun ities for debate and dialogue about more pluralist, but also more equal , futures. Dr Caroline Turner Deputy Director, Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University and former Deputy Director, Queensland Art Gallery See Turner, Caroline and Devenport, Rhana (eds .), Present Encounters: Papers from the Conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1 997. While the papers from the first Conference were not published they are held at the Queensland Art Gallery Research Library and the views of many of the presenters were contained in the book published to coincide with the first exhibition . See Turner, Carol ine (ed .), Tradition and Change: ContemporaryArt ofAsia and the Pacific, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1 993. 2 I nevitably during this process some topics and ideas worked better than others and a disappointment was the experiment with an on-line discussion forum . The extraordinary response t o the women artists' lunch (wh ich could not include everyone who wished to attend) showed that a special session on women's art issues in the region was much needed , and that those issues continue to be significant in an understand ing of contemporary art developments . 3 Clark, John (ed.), Modernity in Asian Art, Un iversity of Sydney East Asia Studies number 7, Wild Peony, Sydney, 1 993. 4 Chakrabarty, Dipesh, Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference, Princeton University Press, Princeton N .J . , 2000. 1 2 1