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

BRENDA L. CROFT (p.1 23) Brenda L. Croft, from the Gurindji nation, is the Curator of I nd igenous Art at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Brenda has been a practising artist since the mid 1 980s, and her work has been exhibited in major exhibitions including 'The Boundary Rider: 9th B iennale of Sydney' ( 1 992); 'Africus: Johannesburg Biennale' ( 1 995); 'Signs of Life: Melbourne International Biennial' ( 1 999); 'Oltre Mito (Outside Myth): Ven ice Biennale Satell ite' ( 1 999). Brenda was a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in 1 987, and its General Manager from 1 990-96 . She was awarded a Master of Art Administration from the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, in 1 995. In 1 996 Brenda was the inaugural Australian recipient of the Chicago Artists International Program and she was awarded the Austral ia Council New York Stud io in 1 997. Also in 1 997, Brenda co-curated 'fluent', Australia's representation at the 47th Ven ice Biennale with artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Yvonne Koolmatrie and Judy Watson. Brenda curated 'Beyond the Pale: Adelaide Biennial of Austral ian Art' at the Art Gallery of South Australia for the 2000 Adelaide Festival. DR VISHAKHA N . DESAI (p.88) Dr Vishakha N. Desai has been the D irector of the Asia Society Galleries in New York since 1 990. She is responsible for special exhibitions of Asian art, the world-renowned Rockefeller Collection and other art-related programs organized by the Asia Society. In 1 993, she was also appointed Vice President for Cultural Programs to develop multid isciplinary projects involving visual and performing arts as well as other humanities and social sciences. Under her d irection , the Society has i naugurated an ambitious and diverse program to present contemporary art by Asian and Asian American artists, while continu ing to organ ise exhibitions of traditional Asian arts with new contextual foci . Dr Vishakha Desai has recently been promoted to Senior Vice President of the Asia Society. RHANA DEVENPORT (p.1 43) From a background in art and theatre education , Rhana Devenport joined the Gallery's Education Section in 1 989 . She co-authored Artifacts, An Exploration of Art and Design for Junior Secondary Students. During 1 992-93 she undertook a Museums Australia professional development grant working in contemporary arts institutions in the USA and the UK. In 1 997 she curated 'Contemporary Vessels and Jewels: Australian Fine Metalwork', which was the inaugural Australian exh ibition at the new Shanghai Museum . For the F i rst APT Rhana co­ ordinated the artist programmes, for the Second APT she was Senior Project Officer, was part of the curatorial team for India and co-ed ited the catalogue. For the Third Trienn ial she has continued as Senior Project Officer and was a co-curator for Thailand and Crossing Borders. JULIE EWINGTON (p.1 07) Julie Ewington is Chair (Southeast Asia) and Co-curator for Indonesia for APT3. She has been Curator, Australian Art, at Queensland Art Gallery since 1 997. In April 1 999 she curated the exhibition 'Yvonne Audette: Abstract Paintings 1 950s & 1 960s' for the Gallery. Previously she was Senior Curator, Museum Education , Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Curator, Canberra School of Art Gallery; and guest curator and essay writer for a number or projects, most notably Thai-Australian Cultural Space, Bangkok and Sydney, 1 993-94; APT2, 1 996; and ' Fire and Life', India/Austral ia, 1 996 and 1 997 . Prior to 1 989, Julie was an academic art historian specializing in contemporary art at the Flinders University of South Australia, the University of Sydney, and Canberra School of Art, ANU. YASUKO FURUICHI ( p. 1 1 0) Yasuko Furuich i is Exhibition Coordinator, Cultural & Information Section at The Japan Foundation Asia Center in Tokyo. Yasuko Furu ichi graduated from the Department of Anthropology, Nanzan Un iversity, and began her career as an art exhibition coordinator at M iddle Eastern Culture Center of Idemitsu Art Gallery. Since the Japan Foundation ASEAN Culture Center (now reorganised as the Asia Center) was establ ished in 1 990, she has been working as a Chief Coordinator for its efforts to introduce Asian contemporary art to a Japanese aud ience. She has a rich experience in coordinating exhibitions and symposia and her projects include 'New Art from Southeast Asia 1 992' ( 1 992), 'Asian Modernism' ( 1 995), 'Private Mythology: Contemporary Art from India' ( 1 998), and the International symposium 'Asian Art: Prospects for the Future' (August, 1 999). She l ives and works in Tokyo. 1 72