QAGOMA & V&A partner on Asia Pacific exhibition in London in 2026
Iman Raad, Iran/United States b.1979/ Days of bliss and woe 2018 / Synthetic polymer paint on plywood and timber / 115 panels: 121.9 x 121.4cm (each); two panels: 121.9 x 121.4cm (irreg., each); two panels: 121.9 x 18.8cm (each); two panels: 121.9 x 42cm (each); one panel: 36.9 x 121.4cm; 44 pieces: 130.5 x 4 x 4cm (each); eight pieces: 126.5 x 4 x 4cm (each); 265 pieces: 122.5 x 4 x 4cm (each)/ Purchased 2018 with funds from Tim Fairfax AC through the QAGOMA Foundation/ Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Iman Raad / View full image
QAGOMA is partnering with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) on an exhibition of highlights from ‘The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT) and QAGOMA’s world-renowned collection of Asian and Pacific art to be presented at V&A South Kensington in London in early 2026.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines said he was thrilled to be working with V&A Director Tristram Hunt and the museum’s internationally renowned exhibitions team to bring the Gallery’s unique collection of contemporary Australian, Asian and Pacific art to the world.
For three decades the APT has been the cornerstone of QAGOMAs program, bringing together the work of more than 650 artists and groups from across 50 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and the London project will be only the second time that works acquired through the exhibition have toured internationally, following a tour to Santiago, Chile in 2019.
It’s a wonderful opportunity to share the cutting edge and customary art practices of our vast and immensely diverse region, which are so richly represented in our collection, with audiences in the northern hemisphere.
The exhibition is being co-curated by QAGOMA’s team of Asian and Pacific art curators led by Tarun Nagesh and Daniel Slater, Director of Exhibitions at the V&A.
Since its inception in 1993, the APT has attracted more than 4 million visitors and extended QAGOMA’s reputation nationally and internationally. Importantly, the APT has enabled us to build an extraordinary, unrivalled collection of contemporary Asian and Pacific art that represents the unique creative voices of world-renowned contemporary artists alongside collaborations with local communities and arts makers.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A said the museum was delighted to share the ambition of hosting a flagship exhibition of ‘The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ at the V&A in London in partnership with QAGOMA.
The APT presents a truly global, cross-cultural offering of contemporary practice across disciplines and regions, and we look forward to sharing this with our international audiences in London.
The exhibition will feature works by artists from the mega cities of Asia to those based in Australia and the distant atolls of the Pacific. It will include works ranging from large-scale sculptural installations to miniature painting to works on bark cloth and intricate body adornment.
This Queensland Art Gallery l Gallery of Modern Art exhibition will be presented in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Montien Boonma Lotus sound 1992
Montien Boonma, Thailand 1953-2000 / Lotus sound 1992 / Terracotta, gilded wood / 390 x 542 x 117cm / The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 1993 with funds from The Myer Foundation and Michael Sidney Myer through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA / View full image
Ken Thaiday Snr Shark mask (with bait fish) 1995
Ken Thaiday Snr, Torres Strait Islander, Meriam Mir people, Australia b.1950 / Shark mask (with bait fish) 1995 / Plywood, enamel paint, wire, feathers, shark’s teeth, string / 72 x 90.5 x 67.8cm / Purchased 1995. QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ken Thaiday Snr / View full image
Lyno Vuth House – Spirit 2018
Lyno Vuth, Cambodia b.1982 / House – Spirit 2018 / Spirit houses, found objects, light fittings, steel / 450 x 300 x 300cm / Purchased 2018. QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Lyno Vuth / View full image
Ah Xian China China – Bust no.4 (series) 1998
Ah Xian, China/Australia b.1960 / China China – Bust no.4 (series) 1998 / Porcelain, cast from figure, with handpainted cobalt underglaze, reduction fired red copper glaze and clear glaze / 32 x 36 x 19cm / The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2000 with funds from The Myer Foundation, a project of the Sidney Myer Centenary Celebration 1899-1999, through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Ah Xian / View full image
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity. It was established in 1852 to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, its purpose is to champion creative industry, inspire the next generation, and spark everyone’s imagination