Brisbane | 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7)

Established in 1993, The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s flagship international contemporary art event. It is the only major exhibition series in the world to focus exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific and Australia. APT7 continues the series’ forward-thinking approach to questions of geography, history and culture and how these questions are explored through the work of contemporary artists. APT7 marks the twentieth anniversary of the APT, and presents an opportunity to reflect on the unprecedented transformations that have occurred in Australia, Asia and the Pacific over the past two decades. Key themes include transforming landscapes, varied engagements with the city, and the adaptability of local cultures in today's globalised world. Occupying the entire Gallery of Modern Art and key spaces at the Queensland Art Gallery, APT7 will feature new and recent works by 75 senior and emerging artists and groups from 27 countries across the region. Major groups of works by younger-generation artists from Indonesia and Vietnam reflect the exciting scenes emerging in those countries. The diversity and depth of Australian Aboriginal art is expressed in the work of five artists, representing some of the most dynamic aspects of Australian art today. Papua New Guinea Two co-curated projects explore specific focuses. Works from Papua New Guinea include a spectacular group of performance masks and painted and carved structures from New Britain and the Sepik, co-curated by architect Martin Fowler. Dominating the entrance and central atrium of the Gallery of Modern Art, this display reflects the idea of ephemeral structures, a central motif of APT7, and considers how the built environment influences people’s engagement with their surroundings and connection to place. West Asia 0 – Now: Traversing West Asia brings together works by seven artists and collectives from the Middle East and Central Asia. Co-curated by Istanbul-based November Paynter, the project considers the shifting borders, cultural interactions and transforming landscapes of this volatile region. The 20-Year Archive To mark the twentieth anniversary of the APT, artists have been invited to interpret archives from across the region for the 20-Year Archive. These include the Gallery’s own Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art archive, interpreted by Heman Chong; an installation by MAP Office, working with the Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; and an installation by Raqs Media Collective, working with the Sarai archive, New Delhi. {disarmed} imagining a Pacific archive, a project by Torika Bolatagici, Teresia Teaiwa and Mat Hunkin, addresses aspects of militarisation in the Pacific. Also included is an archive of Kids’ APT drawing projects, developed in collaboration with APT artists. It features a range of children's drawings from Afghanistan, Papua (Indonesia), Papua New Guinea, North Korea (DPRK), Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, as well as Australia. Kids' APT7 Kids’ APT7 premieres 13 interactive art works and installations for children and their families, while the Kids’ APT7 on Tour program will travel to regional and remote Queensland. Cinema APT7 will also include two film programs curated by the Gallery's Australian Cinémathèque — the major retrospective Mountains and Waters: Chinese Animation Since the 1930s and the thematic program Change: Paths Through 20 Years of Film. Performances, artist talks and lectures also accompany the exhibition. See full programme Image: Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (aka Hahan), Indonesia b.1983 | The Journey 2011 | Synthetic polymer paint on canvas Purchased 2011. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and Queensland Art Gallery (QAG)