Seventy artists, collectives and projects from more than thirty countries (full list of Triennial artists below) will feature in the 11th chapter of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) flagship exhibition series, ‘The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art‘, opening on Saturday 30 November 2024.

Artists including Dana Awartani (illustrated), Brett Graham (illustrated), D Harding, Mit Jai Inn (illustrated), Kikik Kollektive, Saodat Ismailova, Dawn Ng, Yeung Tong Lung and Haus Yuriyal will continue the Asia Pacific Triennial’s commitment to representing the region’s most dynamic and exciting contemporary art.

Dana Awartani

Brett Graham

Brett Graham, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui, New Zealand b.1967 / Installation view Cease Tide of Wrongdoing 2020 from Tai Moana Tai Tangata, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, Len Lye Centre, Ngāmotu, Aotearoa, 2021 / © Brett Graham / Photograph: Neil Pardington

Brett Graham, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui, New Zealand b.1967 / Installation view Cease Tide of Wrongdoing 2020 from Tai Moana Tai Tangata, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, Len Lye Centre, Ngāmotu, Aotearoa, 2021 / © Brett Graham / Photograph: Neil Pardington / View full image

Mit Jai Inn

The much-anticipated Asia Pacific Triennial has showcased an evolving mix of the most important developments in contemporary art from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific for more than three decades. As the Gallery works towards presenting an exhibition of key works acquired by QAGOMA through the thirty-year Asia Pacific Triennial series at the V&A Museum, London in early 2026, it has reflected closely on the significant cultural impact of the Triennial regionally and globally.

Wardha Shabbir

Wardha Shabbir, Pakistan b.1987 / Paths to Portals 2024 / Gouche on acid-free paper / 28 x 40.6cm / © Wardha Shabbir / Courtesy: The artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid

Wardha Shabbir, Pakistan b.1987 / Paths to Portals 2024 / Gouche on acid-free paper / 28 x 40.6cm / © Wardha Shabbir / Courtesy: The artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid / View full image

As with previous Triennials, the eleventh chapter will be presented throughout both the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and include works produced across vast geographies and cultural contexts, offering audiences a multiplicity of experiences, perspectives and diverse approaches to both contemporary and community-based customary art practices.

Kawita Vatanajyankur

Kawita Vatanajyankur, Thailand b.1987 / Pat Pataranutaporn, United States b.1995 / The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell (from the ‘Cyber Labour’ series) 2024 / Performative hologram projections with AI / Commissioned for ‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial’ / © Kawita Vatanyankur / Courtesy: The artist and Nova Contemporary

Kawita Vatanajyankur, Thailand b.1987 / Pat Pataranutaporn, United States b.1995 / The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell (from the ‘Cyber Labour’ series) 2024 / Performative hologram projections with AI / Commissioned for ‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial’ / © Kawita Vatanyankur / Courtesy: The artist and Nova Contemporary / View full image

Developed and researched by QAGOMA’s specialist Asian and Pacific curatorial team, with collaboration from co-curators and interlocutors in the region, this Triennial will feature over 500 artworks including major new commissions by artists Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Kawita Vatanajyankur (illustrated), Trương Công Tùng, Paemanu Contemporary Art Collective, ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group, Mele Kahalepuna Chun and Mai Nguyễn-Long.

Rithika Merchant

Rithika Merchant, India b.1986 / Temporal Structures 2023 / Gouache, watercolour and ink on paper / 105 x 150cm / Courtesy: The artist and TARQ, Mumbai / © Rithika Merchant

Rithika Merchant, India b.1986 / Temporal Structures 2023 / Gouache, watercolour and ink on paper / 105 x 150cm / Courtesy: The artist and TARQ, Mumbai / © Rithika Merchant / View full image

Artists in the exhibition consider knowledge in its many forms, following thematic threads such as care for natural and urban environments, intergenerational experiences of migration and labour, and nuanced approaches to storytelling, materials and technique. For the first time in the series, this Triennial will include artists and works from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Timor-Leste and Uzbekistan.

Dawn Ng

Dawn Ng, Singapore b.1982 / WATERFALL VIII (still) 2023 / 4K video, 27:06 minutes, 16:9 (landscape) and 9:16 (portrait) / © Dawn Ng / Courtesy: The artist and Sullivan+Strumpf

Dawn Ng, Singapore b.1982 / WATERFALL VIII (still) 2023 / 4K video, 27:06 minutes, 16:9 (landscape) and 9:16 (portrait) / © Dawn Ng / Courtesy: The artist and Sullivan+Strumpf / View full image

Among the many highlights in the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial will be:

  • A vibrant multi-part project by Haus Yuriyal, a collective of 28 artists living and working in Jiwaka/Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, led by Brisbane-based artist Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman. Kuman (fighting shields) paintings, carved tree fern sculptures, embroideries and a range of innovative bilum designs will be shown alongside a video picture house and a lush harvest garden in QAG’s sculpture courtyard.
  • Leading Thai artist Mit Jai Inn’s three-dimensional installation reimagining painting and abstraction in a dramatic interactive environment on the QAG Watermall. With suspended tunnels, cascading curtains and towering scroIls, the work will encourage visitors to enter and explore its maze-like structures.
  • An evocative installation of monumental sculptures and video by Aotearoa New Zealand artist Brett Graham. Occupying the full length of GOMA’s Long Gallery, Tai Moana Tai Tangata will represent the relationship between Taranaki and Tainui Māori and the pact of solidarity they forged during the New Zealand Wars.
  • A large-scale mural by Kikik Kollektive from Iloilo Province in the central Tul-an sang aton kamal-aman (Bones of our elders) will reframe the stories that have formed the history and culture of Iloilo, depicting a sinuous serpent deity associated with the moon alongside imagery of local figures, community traditions, ancient cultivation practices and spiritual beliefs.
  • Standing by the Ruins, a stunning floor-based installation by Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia/Palestine) combining the artist’s knowledge of Islamic geometry and craft techniques with tropes of Arabic ruin poetry to address war, cultural destruction and healing.
  • A mesmerising new multi-channel video installation by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng, capturing a timelapse of a large sculptural block of frozen pigment melting and disintegrating sublimely representing the ephemerality of time, beauty, destruction, love and loss (illustrated).
  • Innovative portraits of everyday life in Hong Kong by senior painter Yeung Tong Lung, deploying unusual perspectives with an affectionate eye for detail. The paintings range from intimate vignettes to an epic 20-metre, multi-panel panoramic view of the city.
    Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema
  • Five Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema programs exploring central Asian cinema ‘Children of Independence: The Rise of Central Asian Cinema‘ and futurism on screen ‘Future Visions‘, alongside comprehensive career surveys of prominent film directors Tsai Ming-liang, Kamila Andini, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi and a live music and film event with composer and musician Eiko Ishibashi.

Director: Tsai Ming-liang

Production still from Goodbye, Dragon Inn 2003 / Director: Tsai Ming-liang / Image courtesy: Homegreen Films

Production still from Goodbye, Dragon Inn 2003 / Director: Tsai Ming-liang / Image courtesy: Homegreen Films / View full image

Director: Kamila Andini

Production still from The Seen and Unseen 2017 / Director: Kamila Andini / Image courtesy: Cercamon

Production still from The Seen and Unseen 2017 / Director: Kamila Andini / Image courtesy: Cercamon / View full image

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Production still from Evil Does Not Exist 2023 / Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi / Image courtesy: Hi Gloss Entertainment

Production still from Evil Does Not Exist 2023 / Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi / Image courtesy: Hi Gloss Entertainment / View full image

The Triennial also includes four projects co-curated to enable a deeper investigation into rarely platformed regions, artworks and cultural contexts:

  • TAMBA, a project co-curated with Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, and featuring artists, activists, and Indigenous communities from Nepal and the surrounding region. It encompasses diverse narratives across video, woodcut prints, textiles, installation, photography, music and poetry.
  • Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, co-curated with Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr with the assistance of Al-Nezzar Ali and Emi Englis. Recent customary and ceremonial works by Indigenous and Islamic communities will be shown alongside painting, video and sculpture. Highlights include abaca ‘dream weavings’ by the T’boli people, ochre paintings by Talaandig cultural leader Salima Saway Agra’an; and okir (botanic) kite sculptures by Tausug artist Rameer Tawasil, as well as works by Kiri Dalena, Adjani Arumpac, Cian Dayrit and others.
  • An immersive sound and video installation created by Dreamcast Theatre and the KAWAKI women’s collective from The Solomon Islands, co-developed with The Nature Conservancy to highlight KAWAKI’s ongoing relationship to their natural environment and custodianship of the Arnavon Islands.
  • A showcase of customary and innovative weavings by artists from across five of Torba Province’s islands, curated by Dely Roy Nalo.

Kim Ah Sam

Kim Ah Sam, Kalkadoon, Kuku Yalanji people, Australia b.1967 / Where our journey takes us (detail, Outer Space Window Gallery, Brisbane) 2022 / Twine, raffia, bamboo and emu feathers / © Kim Ah Sam / Image courtesy: Outer Space and Kim Ah Sam / Photograph: Louis Lim

Kim Ah Sam, Kalkadoon, Kuku Yalanji people, Australia b.1967 / Where our journey takes us (detail, Outer Space Window Gallery, Brisbane) 2022 / Twine, raffia, bamboo and emu feathers / © Kim Ah Sam / Image courtesy: Outer Space and Kim Ah Sam / Photograph: Louis Lim / View full image

The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial artists

  • Kim Ah Sam Kalkadoon, Kuku Yalanji people. b.1967, Brisbane, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane (illustrated)
  • Bernice Akamine Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. 1949-2024 / Lived and worked in Hawai‘i
  • Tully Arnot b.1984, Gadigal Sydney, Australia / Lives and works in Hong Kong
  • Ataúro woodcarvers Ataúro, Timor‑Leste
  • AWA (Artists for Waiapu Action) est. 2023 Aotearoa New Zealand / Live and work in Te Tai Rawhiti, East Coast Ngāti Porou homelands and Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Dana Awartani Saudi Arabia, Palestine, b.1987, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia / Lives and works in Jeddah, and New York, USA
  • Abdul Halik Azeez b.1985, Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka / Lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • William Bakalevu b.1961, Suva, Fiji / Lives and works in Nakorolevu, Namara Tailevu, Fiji
  • Nadiah Bamadhaj b.1968, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia / Lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • BOLOHO est. 2019, Guangzhou, China / Live and work in Guangzhou
  • Bùi Công Khánh b.1972, Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hội An and Bát Trang, Việt Nam
  • Etson Caminha b.1984, Lospalos, Timor-Leste / Lives and works in Dili, Timor‑Leste
  • CAMP est. 2007, Mumbai, India / Live and work in Mumbai
  • Szelit Cheung b.1988, Hong Kong / Lives and works in Hong Kong
  • Masaya Chiba b.1980, Yokohama, Japan / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
  • Mele Kahalepuna Chun Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. b.1969, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i / Lives and works in Honolulu, Hawai‘i
  • Chung Seoyoung b.1964, Seoul, South Korea / Lives and works in Seoul
  • Community Partner Program South-East Queensland
  • Karla Dickens Wiradjuri, Irish and German heritage. b.1967, Gadigal land Sydney, Australia / Lives and works on Bundjalung Country in Goonellabah, Lismore, Australia
  • Dulguun Baatarsukh b.1984, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar
  • Ana Estrada, Nasrikah, Okui Lala / Ana Estrada b.1984, Mexico City, Mexico / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia; Nasrikah b.1979, Tulungagung, Indonesia / Lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Okui Lala b.1991, George Town, Malaysia / Lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Harold ‘Egn’ Eswar b.1980, Keningau, Malaysia / Lives and works in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group / ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki b.1972, Vava’u, Tonga / Lives and works in Vava’u; Lepamahanga Women’s Group est. 2016, Tu’anuku Village, Vava’u
  • Angela Goh b.1986, Canberra, Australia / Lives and works in Sydney, Australia
  • Brett Graham Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui. b.1967, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Waiuku, Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Ishu Han b.1987, Shanghai, China / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
  • D Harding Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal people. b.1982, Moranbah, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia
  • Abolfazl Harouni b.1998, Karaj, Iran / Lives and works in Tehran, Iran
  • Haus Yuriyal est. 2015, Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea / Live and work in Jiwaka and Simbu Provinces, Papua New Guinea
  • Shahla Hosseini b.1954, Tehran, Iran / Lives and works in Tehran
  • Katsuko Ishigaki b.1967, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan / Lives and works in Naha and Okinawa City, Okinawa
  • Saodat Ismailova b.1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan / Lives and works in Paris, France and Tashkent
  • Mit Jai Inn b.1960, Chiang Mai, Thailand / Lives and works in Chiang Mai
  • Madina Kasimbaeva b.1981, Tashkent, Uzbekistan / Lives and works in Tashkent
  • Kawaki and Dreamcast Theatre / Kawaki est. 2016, Arnavons, Solomon Islands / Live and work in Katupika, hoiseul Province, Wagina, and Kia, Isabel Province, Solomon Islands; Dreamcast Theatre est. 2005 Honiara, Solomon Islands / Live and work in Honiara
  • Kikik Kollektive est. 2017, Iloilo province, The Philippines / Live and work in Iloilo province
  • Laresa Kosloff b.1974, Naarm Melbourne, Australia/ Lives and works in Naarm Melbourne
  • Zac Langdon‑Pole b.1988 Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
  • Lê Giang b.1988, Hà Nội, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hà Nội
  • Lê Thuý b.1988, Thanh Hóa, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hội An, Việt Nam
  • Jeremy Leatinu’u Ngāti Maniapoto; Safune, Puʻapuʻa, Vailoa, Fatausi, Safotu, Safotulafai Samoa. b.1984, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand / Lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau
  • Charles Lim Yi Yong b.1973, Singapore / Lives and works in Singapore
  • Muhlis Lugis b.1987, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia / Lives and works in Makassar
  • Eleng Luluan Rukai people. b.1968, Haocha (Kuchapungan) community, Pingtung County, Taiwan / Lives and works in Dawu, Pingtung County
  • Rithika Merchant b.1986, Mumbai, India / Lives and works in Mumbai, India and Barcelona, Spain (illustrated)
  • Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago Co-curated with Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr with the assistance of Al-Nezzar Ali and Emi Alexander Englis
  • Filwa Nazer b.1972, Swansea, United Kingdom / Lives and works in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Dawn Ng b.1982, Singapore / Lives and works in Singapore
  • Mai Nguyễn‑Long Việt Nam / Australia b.1970, Tasmania, Australia / Lives and works in Bulli, Dharawal Country, Australia
  • Nomin Bold and Ochirbold Ayurzana / Nomin Bold b.1982, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar; Ochirbold Ayurzana b.1976, Sukhbaatar Province, Mongolia / Lives and works in Ulaanbaatar
  • Oecussi woodcarvers Oecussi-Ambeno, Timor‑Leste
  • Haji Oh b.1976, Osaka, Japan / Lives and works in Wollongong, Dharawal Country, Australia
  • Paemanu Kāi Tahu. est. 2009, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand / Live and work in Ōtautahi, Ōtepoti, Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Sarker Protick b.1986, Dhaka, Bangladesh / Lives and works in Dhaka (illustrated)
  • Joydeb Roaja Tripura people. b.1973, Kagrachari, Bangladesh / Lives and works in Kagrachari and Chittagong, Bangladesh
  • Varunika Saraf b.1981, Hyderabad, India / Lives and works in Hyderabad
  • Albert Yonathan Setyawan b.1983 Bandung, Indonesia / Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
  • Wardha Shabbir b.1987, Lahore, Pakistan / Lives and works in Lahore (illustrated)
  • Hema Shironi b.1991, Kandy, Sri Lanka / Lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • Darrell Sibosado Bard people. b.1966, Marapikurrinya/Port Hedland, Australia / Lives and works in Lombadina, Australia
  • Sancintya Mohini Simpson b.1991, Brisbane, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane
  • TAMBA Co-curated with Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung, Nepal and surrounding region
  • Jasmine Togo‑Brisby Australian South Sea Islander. b.1982, Murwillumbah, Australia / Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia
  • Torba Weavers Co-curated by Dely Roy Nalo with the assistance of David Nalo, Torba Province, Vanuatu
  • Trương Công Tùng b.1986, Đăk Lăk, Central Highlands, Việt Nam / Lives and works in Hồ Chí Minh City, Việt Nam
  • Alexander Ugay b.1978, Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan / Lives and works in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Seoul, South Korea
  • Kawita Vatanajyankur with Pat Pataranutaporn / Kawita Vatanajyankur b.1987, Bangkok, Thailand / Lives and works in Bangkok; Pat Pataranutaporn b.1995, Boston, United States / Lives and works in Boston
  • Wang Tuo b.1984, Changchun, China / Lives and works in Beijing, China
  • Yeung Tong Lung b.1956, Fujian, China / Lives and works in Hong Kong
  • Yim Maline b.1982, Battambang, Cambodia / Lives and works in Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • Zhang Xu Zhan b.1988, Taipei, Taiwan / Lives and works in Taipei

Sarker Protick

Sarker Protick, Bangladesh b.1986 / Ghore Fera 2011–23 / Inkjet print / 50.8 x 76.2cm / © Sarker Protick / Courtesy: The artist and Shrine Empire, Delhi

Sarker Protick, Bangladesh b.1986 / Ghore Fera 2011–23 / Inkjet print / 50.8 x 76.2cm / © Sarker Protick / Courtesy: The artist and Shrine Empire, Delhi / View full image

‘The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ is made possible by Founding Supporter the Queensland Government and Principal Partner Creative Australia; and is supported by Strategic Partner Tourism and Events Queensland; Principal Benefactor Haymans Electrical & Data Supplies; Asia Pacific Triennial Kids Principal Benefactor Tim Fairfax Family Foundation; Major Partners Shayher Group, Urban Art Projects and Crumpler; and Grantor the Office for the Arts, part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

Art that makes an impact
Asia Pacific Triennial
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art
30 November 2024 – 27 April 2025

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These Asian and Pacific filmmakers present an array of imagined futures that delve into the realms of postcolonialism, the contemporary diaspora, queer identities and post-humanism. Despite an emphasis on prefiguring the future, the films featured in this program are as much about memory as speculative thinking. Filmmakers in the region draw from tradition and memory to transgress the constraints of linear time, allowing them to tell stories about the past from a future viewpoint, and to comment on the present. They are also reconfiguring traditional science-fiction narratives, integrating culture and history. By asking ‘what if?’, this suite of films considers what the movement of humanity — both in terms of geography and evolution — means for our environmental future, our personal and cultural identities, and our memories across the region. Children of Independence: The Rise of Central Asian Cinema Emerging from years of Soviet Union rule, the rise of cinema in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan since 1991 offers an exciting insight into the region with contemporary filmmakers having much to say about society, culture and tradition. Often unflinching in their approach to difficult and sometimes taboo subjects, the articulate and award‑winning films showcased in ‘Children of Independence: The Rise of Central Asian Cinema’ champion stories of vulnerable and exploited people. Like many of their Asian and Pacific regional counterparts, Central Asian filmmakers explore the effects of rapid cultural, economic and political change in their work. Embedded in the narratives of many films from Central Asia is an examination of traditional values and customs, and how they apply to the changing contemporary landscape. In a climate of conservative politics, artists and filmmakers are mindful of subjects that are frowned upon or outright forbidden. In Central Asia, governing bodies set the tone for what is acceptable within film narratives; however, previously taboo topics are slowly emerging in the contemporary filmmaking of the region. In recent years, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have moved closer to functional democratic rule and more open societies, while Uzbekistan and Tajikistan tend toward Soviet-era restriction. The loosening of cultural taboos and the increased agency of filmmakers to tell their own stories have encouraged a creative cinematic outpouring over the last 20 years. It is a time of growth, and a dynamic moment for independent voices to be...