'The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT7) wound up at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) over the weekend with a total of over 565,000 visitors having attended the exhibition since it opened on December 8.
QAGOMA Acting Deputy Director of Curatorial and Collection Development Maud Page said the figure amounted to a record average for the APT series of 4,450 visitors per day, and included a massive closing weekend total of 20,000 visitors.
'APT7 was seen by more than 143,000 children, including over 23,600 students in school groups,' Ms Page said.
'Throughout regional Queensland, an additional 10,000 people participated in Kids' APT on Tour at over 75 venues.'
Ms Page said the 20th anniversary of the APT had been a huge success, and around forty per cent of the works on display had been acquired for the Gallery's collection.
'The commissioning and acquisition of works for the Gallery's permanent collection as part of successive Triennials has resulted in QAGOMA being home to an internationally renowned collection of contemporary Asian and Pacific art,' she said.
Major commissions entering the Collection from APT7 include Huang Yong Ping's imposing 53-metre snake skeleton on QAG's Watermall, made possible with the support of Tim Fairfax AM through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation; the installations from Papua New Guinea supported by Kramer Ausenco; Queensland artist Shirley Macnamara's turpentine shrub and spinifex sculpture; Atul Dodiya's nine-cabinet installation referencing QAG exhibitions and collections; Lorraine Connelly-Northey's monumental metal sculptures; and The Propeller Group's collaborative graffiti canvas.
Other works to be added to the Collection include paintings and carved poles by award-winning painter Timothy Cook, from the Tiwi Islands, NT; Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki's meticulous recreation of a Buddhist pavilion Reflection Model (Perfect Bliss) 2010-12; and two ethereal paintings by Japan's Tomoko Kashiki.
'Some APT7 works have been gifted to the Collection by the artists themselves, including Edwin Roseno's Green hypermarket series 2011-12 and Parastou Forouhar's multimedia animation for the Gallery's Children's Art Centre, Persian for kids,' Ms Page said.
APT7 has been the most ambitious Triennial to date, featuring new and recent work across both GOMA and QAG by 75 artists and artist groups from 27 countries across the region.
The Queensland Government is Founding Sponsor of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art series, and Santos was Presenting Sponsor of APT7. The exhibition's Principal Partners were Tourism and Events Queensland and the Australia Council for the Arts. The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation was Principal Benefactor and Kramer Ausenco was Major Sponsor. |
