The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
9 September 1999 – 26 January 2000
Brisbane, Australia
The Queensland Art Gallery's Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT3) opened in Brisbane on 9 September, 1999 and continued until 26 January 2000. The theme was 'Beyond the Future'.
APT3 included the work of over 77 artists from 20 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific, and included for the first time in the Triennial, artists from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Niue and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Other new aspects of the project included the Virtual Triennial and web site , the Screen Culture component (film, video and animation works), the Kids' APT comprising works specifically commissioned from APT3 artists for children aged 3-12 and the expanded International Visitors' Outreach Program which placed visiting artists and curators with galleries, academic institutions and community groups throughout regional and metropolitan Australia.
The APT project was initiated by the Queensland Art Gallery nearly ten years ago. The event is unique in the world in linking the contemporary art of Asia and the Pacific. The aim of the Triennial is to further cultural understanding and provide a window onto the most exciting contemporary art developments in the region. In the three Triennials held this decade, over 600 art professionals from the region have been directly involved in realising the exhibitions. Audiences for the first two exhibitions in 1993 and 1996 were 60,000 and 120,000 respectively. The total attendance figure for APT3 was 154,025.
The Triennial is the largest collaborative art project in Australia and provides an opportunity for dialogue and discussion as well as a platform for artistic experiment. An emphasis within APT3 has been artistic collaborations across cultures, media and art forms as well as the inclusion of new technologies, while allowing continuing focus on art addressing the critical issue of the place of tradition in the rapidly changing societies of the Asia-Pacific region.
'In nine years the Triennial has created a dynamic interchange of ideas, experimentation and momentum ... there is little doubt that this is Australia's best contemporary exhibition.'
Louise Martin-Chew, Weekend Australian, 18-19 September, 1999
APT catalogues, education and slide kits, conference papers, merchandise and postcards are available from the Gallery Store. APT3's full-colour catalogue features over 90 essays by Australian and international writers, details on works, the artists and the process of developing and presenting APT3.
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