New interlocutor program for APT9

Wed 4 Apr 2018

For ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT9), QAGOMA Asia Pacific research arm the Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA) has convened a group of ten highly respected artists, curators, critics and researchers to act as interlocutors, participating in discussions, lending expertise and testing issues in the development of the APT program.

The APT9 Interlocutor group is comprised of Reza Afisina (based Jakarta), Sana Balai (based in Australia with ties to Bougainville), Diana Campbell Betancourt (Dhaka), Katina Davidson (Brisbane), Greg Dvorak (Tokyo), Suman Gopinath (India), Shihoko Iida (Japan), Olivier Krischer (Australia), Laura Metzler (Sharjah) and Vera Mey (based in London and Cambodia).

The role of these experts is to liaise with the internal QAGOMA curators of APT9 around the content of the public program and larger ideas around this Triennial.

The group met at QAGOMA for four days in late November 2017, and underwent a deep familiarisation with QAGOMA, the APT, its Cinémathèque, Children’s Art Centre, Public Engagement including Learning and Public Programs and the Brisbane context. Following three days of discussions and familiarisations at QAGOMA, the group then visited local galleries and studios.

During this time the visiting interlocutors and QAGOMA curators engaged in focused conversations that contribute to the thinking around the APT9 public and learning programs and the development of the APT model. These discussions broaden the relevance and reach of QAGOMA’s flagship exhibition series.

The Interlocutor Program is a vital component of this Triennial. It enables rigorous face-to-face discussion of the development of the Triennial and dialogue around the model and program. The Triennial benefits from this group of generous individuals with deep experience who are all furthering the significance, reach and exposure of APT9.
Zara Stanhope, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA

An important part of interlocutor engagement was a day of ‘Conversations on Art in Asia and the Pacific’ during which the interlocutors shared their current research with over 100 local and regional peers. Topics covered included artist-driven projects, platforms and international exchanges; structural issues in the creation of new art centres and a crowded marketplace for large-scale exhibitions; and the need for intraregional cultural connections across Asia and the Pacific. Focused presentations profiled the Brisbane based Indigenous curatorial collective BlakLash, new challenges and opportunities facing Jakarta’s longstanding Ruangrupa group, and the development of the APT9 Women’s Wealth project in Bougainville.

The APT9 Interlocutor Program was very important for the continuous conversations around the region. It functioned as an open and productive platform not only for positively speculating on the uncertain future of the region, but also for sharing and learning again what I had missed to learn in formal history. Big thanks to ACAPA and QAGOMA for inviting me to the Program!
Shihoko Iida (Japan), APT9 Interlocuator

The Interlocutors returned for the APT9 opening weekend, having been involved in the planning or participating in the APT9 Symposium. Subscribe to the ACAPA eNews to stay up to date with all QAGOMA’s Asia Pacific related activities.

APT9 Interlocutor group

Sana Balai (AROB/ Australia) Co-curator for ‘Women’s Wealth’ project in APT9, Sana is an active member of the Bougainville and Pacific Islander communities in Melbourne and Australia and advocate for Pacific art and artists.

Reza Afisina (Indonesia) Reza Afisina is a practicing artist who works across video, performance and installation and a senior member of Ruangrupa, the non-profit arts organisation in Jakarta.

Diana Campbell Betancourt (Bangladesh) Diana Campbell Betancourt is the Artistic Director of the Samdani Art Foundation in Dhaka and the Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit for the 2014, 2016, and 2018 editions, and developing the Samdani Art Foundation collection.

Katina Davidson Katina Davidson is a curator who identifies as a descendant of the Purga Mission (QLD) with cultural connections to the Kullilli and Yuggera people, and maternal non-Indigenous Australian heritage, and one of three founding members of BlakLash Collective in Brisbane.

Greg Dvorak (Japan) Greg Dvorak is Associate Professor in the Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies and Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies, Tokyo, with expertise on Micronesia and art from Oceania. He is the founder of grassroots art/research initiative ProjectSango.

Suman Gopinath (India) Suman Gopinath is an independent curator, one of the founders of CoLab Art & Architecture, and manages the Museum and Archival Fellowships at India Foundation for the Arts, a grant-making organisation in India.

Olivier Krischer (Australia/China) Olivier Krischer is an academic and writer, and a post-doctoral Fellow at the Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University. His research focuses on art as a facet of Japan-China relations in the 1980s-1990s and transnational networks of artistic social activism in East Asia.

Laura Metzler (Sharjah) Laura Metzler is Curator at Maraya Art Center, Sharjah and previously was the Associate Director of The Third Line, Dubai and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut.

Vera Mey (New Zealand) Curator Vera Mey is currently undertaking a PhD at SOAS, University of London, and previously Curator, Residences at the contemporary art research centre, Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore).

Shihoko Iida (Japan) Shihoko Iida is curator based in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, Associate Professor of Department of Inter-Media Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, and Global Art Practice, Graduate School of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts.

The Interlocutor visits have been made possible by support from the Australia Council for the Arts.

Visit the QAGOMA Research Library to research contemporary art of Asia, Pacific and Australia and APT archives.

Read more on APT9 / Subscribe to YouTube for behind-the-scenes video

Free, and curated for audiences of all ages, ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT9) profiles artworks by more than 80 artists, groups and projects from over 30 countries, and is presented across the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art until 28 April 2019.

APT9 publication

Read more in The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art available online or in store. The publication represents an important and lasting document of the current artistic landscape of Asia and the Pacific.

APT9 is made possible with the support of Founding Supporter the Queensland Government, and Principal Partner the Australia Council for the Arts. Women’s Wealth is supported by the Gordon Darling Foundation, and the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Feature image detail: Pangrok Sulap Sabah tanah air-ku (detail) 2017