Major new works by artists Kaili Chun (Kanaka Ōiwi,Hawai’i), Gordon Hookey (Waanyi people, Australia), Kimiyo Mishima (Japan), Salote Tawale (Fiji/Australia) and Grace Lillian Lee and UncleKen Thaiday Snr (Meriam Mir people, Australia), will be among the highlights of ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10) at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) from 4 December, 2021 until 25 April, 2022.

Announcing the first cohort of artists and projects to feature in the forthcoming Triennial, QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said the tenth chapter in the Gallery’s flagship exhibition series would include 69 projects with new and recent work by more than 100 emerging and established artists, collectives and filmmakers from more than 30 countries.

‘For its landmark tenth edition, APT looks to the future of art and the world we inhabit together. The vast majority of the exhibition will consist of newly commissioned works of art developed through sustained engagement with this culturally diverse region,’ Mr Saines said.

Kaili Chun’s architectural floor-to-ceiling installation will suspend hundreds of stainless-steel threads incorporating delicate capsules of water, while leading Australian artist Gordon Hookey will reveal the largest and most recent painting from his ongoing ‘MURRILAND!’ series.

Senior Japanese avant‑gardist Kimiyo Mishima will present a group of her life-like ceramic sculptures of everyday objects (supported by the DFAT Australia-Japan Foundation and the Ishibashi Foundation), while a new site-specific work by Salote Tawale will be based on the Fijian bilibili, a large raft made from bamboo and other recycled materials.

Torres Strait Islander and multicultural artist Grace Lillian Lee and her world-renowned mentor UncleKen Thaiday Snr are creating a large-scale kinetic dhari (headdress) that reflects both artists’ practices and Lee’s signature use of the double ‘grasshopper’ weave in her body adornment works.

‘We are thrilled to also feature one of the most ambitious artworks to emerge from Bangladesh, a spectacular installation of 70 suspended pots in QAG’s Watermall by Kamruzzaman Shadhin & Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts,'Mr Saines said.

‘Other new works will include an installation of threaded architecture by Indian artist Sumakshi Singh and an ‘exploded’ artists’ studio suspended from the ceiling of GOMA by Tongan collective Seleka International Art Society Initiative.'

Mr Saines said meaningful community engagement was at the core of planning for APT10, with an initiative focused on the knowledge and values of Pacific communities in South East Queensland, and Aotearoa New Zealand artist Shannon Novak working with LGBTQI+ communities to create safe spaces within organisations and institutions – supported by Creative New Zealand.

Multi-artist projects with regional curators and collaborators will deepen the representation of the island nations and atolls of Northern Oceania, reimagine the histories of exchange through the works of Macassan and Yolgnu artists, and present Taiwanese Indigenous artists in partnership with the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Centre (IPCDC) – supported by the Cultural Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney (TECO). In addition, an immersive installation of a significant collection of Uramat bark cloth masks from East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, will be shown for the first time since it was gifted to the Gallery through APT collaborator, the late Gideon Kakabin in 2018, and presented in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology and the Uramat community - supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program.

Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said the Asia Pacific Triennial was an internationally renowned signature exhibition for QAGOMA.

‘Over three decades, more than 3.7 million visitors have enjoyed this unique presentation of art from the Asia Pacific region, so this next exhibition will be another incredible drawcard for visitors to Queensland,’ Minister Enoch said.

‘APT10 presents an opportunity for visual artists from across Australia and the Asia Pacific to collaborate and share works that are a powerful expression of their cultures and experiences.

‘In 2021, APT10 will provide an international, vibrant celebration of contemporary art and cross-cultural dialogue.

‘The arts are key to delivering our plan for economic recovery, each year contributing $8.5 billion into the state’s economy and supporting more than 92,000 jobs for Queenslanders,’ Minister Enoch said.

Mr Saines said APT10 would be a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the most compelling new work being produced across Asia, the Pacific and Australia, especially with ongoing restrictions on international travel due to COVID‑19.

‘The expansive onsite exhibition experience across both QAG and GOMA will include curated cinema programs screening at the Australian Cinémathèque, interactive artist projects for children and families, an all-ages Summer Festival and a two-night Up Late program,’ he said.

The first group of artists announced for APT10 are:

3AM est. 2016, Myanmar. Live and work in Yangon, Myanmar
Air Canoe: Northern Oceania: Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and their diasporas.
Maryam Ayeen and Abbas Shahsavar b.1983 & 1985, Bojnord & Kermanshah, Iran. Live and work in Mashhad, Iran.
Kaili Chun b.1962, Kanaka Ōiwi, Hawai'i. Lives and works Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Gordon Hookey Waanyi people, b.1961, Cloncurry, Australia. Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia.
Chia-Wei Hsu b.1983, Taichung, Taiwan. Lives and works in Taipei.
Hu Yun b.1986, Shanghai, China. Lives and works in Shanghai, Belgrade and Melbourne.
Grace Lillian Lee Meriam Mir people, b.1988, Cairns, Queensland, and Uncle Ken Thaiday Snr Meriam Mir people, b.1950, (Erub) Darnley Island, Australia. Live and work in Cairns, Australia.
Kimiyo Mishima b.1932, Osaka, Japan. Lives and works in Osaka.
Nguyên Thi Châu Giang b.1975, Hanoi, Vietnam. Lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Shannon Novak b.1979, New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand. Lives and works in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Lee Paje b.1980, Manila, Philippines. Lives and works in Manila.
Syagini Ratna Wulan b.1979, Bandung, Indonesia. Lives and works in Bandung.
Seleka International Art Society Initiative est. 2008. Haveluloto, Tongatapu, Tonga.
Than Sok b.1984, Takeo, Cambodia. Lives and works in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Thasnai Sethaseree b.1968, Bangkok, Thailand. Lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Kamruzzaman Shadhin & Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts b.1974, Thakurgaon, Bangladesh / est. 2001. Live and work in Dhaka and Thakurgaon, Bangladesh.
Sumakshi Singh b.1980, Delhi, India. Lives and works in Gurgaon, India.
Salote Tawale b.1976, Suva, Fiji. Lives and works in Sydney, Australia.
Uramat Mugas (Uramat Story Songs) Indigenous Uramat Identity, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Yolngu/Macassan Project Yirrkala, Australia and Macassar, Indonesia.

‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ is made possible with the support of Founding Supporter the Queensland Government, and Principal Partner the Australia Council for the Arts.

APT10 is also supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar; and by the Gallery’s new Major Partner Shayher Group.

The full list of supporter acknowledgements is available online.

ENDS