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

BEYOND THE FUTURE PAPERS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF THE THI RD ASIA-PACI FIC TRI ENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART BRISBANE, 10-12 SEPTEMBER, 1999 CONFERENCE VENUES Queensland Art Gallery Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre CONFERENCE CONVENORS Doug Hall (Director, Queensland Art Gallery) Dr Caroline Turner (Deputy Director, Queensland Art Gallery) Professor Russell Trood (Director, CSAAR, Griffith Un iversity) Professor lain McCalman (Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National University) Rhana Devenport (Senior Project Officer, Asia-Pacific Trienn ial ) QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY Since its establishment in 1895 the Queensland Art Gallery has consolidated its position as one of the foremost art institutions in Australia, initiating and presenting sign ificant national and international exhibitions. By maintaining a strong commitment to Austral ian visual art of the twentieth century and to international projects and exchanges, the Gallery is ideally placed to have conceived the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. The Gallery's continuing engagement with the region is demonstrated through its sign ificant collection of contemporary Asian art (includ ing the Kenneth & Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art}, a research collection of over 4 OOO items and a database of more than 2 OOO Asian and Pacific artists . Publishing, conferences and education are important components of the Queensland Art Gallery's programs. The Th ird Triennial (9 September 1999-26 January 2000) reflects the Gallery's ongoing commitment to the presentation and d iscussion of the contemporary visual art of Asia and the Pacific and builds on the already strong relations it has developed between artists , scholars and arts professionals in the region . THE CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF AUSTRALIA-ASIA RELATIONS (CSAAR) The Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations (CSAAR) is an allied centre of the School of Asian and International Stud ies at Griffith Un iversity. It was establ ished in 1978 to promote research and study into Australia's contemporary relations with Asia. The Centre's research focuses on: Asian Immigration into Australia, Security in the Asia-Pacific Region , Asian Perceptions of Australia and Australia's Economic Relations with Asia. The Centre seeks to expand understanding of Austral ia's relations with the countries of its region through workshops, seminars, public lectures and symposia. It also offers consultancy services to government, commercial and community organ isations. THE CENTRE FOR CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH (CCR) The Centre for Cross-Cultural Research was established at the Austral ian National Un iversity in January 1997, with a grant from the Australian Research Council's Special Research Centre program . It is the first Special Research Centre to be established in the humanities, and is conducting an ambitious and wide-ranging program in cultural history, art history, visual stud ies, and anthropology, ranging over art, travel, colonial ism, settler-ind igenous relations, m igration , museums, consumption and other topics of cross-cultural stud ies . Research foregrounds the Asia-Pacific region since the eighteenth century, and illuminates colonial histories and contemporary developments through wider global comparisons. The Centre's activities are closely linked with the conference and fellowship programs of the ANU's Humanities Research Centre. 7 .