BRISBANE, Australia — Over the past year, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made waves in his country and across the region with his plans to spearhead the development of an Asia Pacific Community. Rudd is in part picking up where former Prime Minister Bob Hawke left off 20 years ago, when Australia played a central role in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group in 1989. In terms of cultural exchange, however, a Brisbane institution, the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAG|GOMA), has long been at the forefront of developing regional ties through its flagship international art event: the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT).
Launched in 1993, APT is an essential showcase for regional contemporary art, bringing together artists from South, East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand. In 2006-07, APT5 attracted some 700,000 visitors, and the acquisition of selected works from each exhibition has turned QAG|GOMA into one of Australia's leading collecting institutions.
Over the years APT has provided international exposure for some of Japan's most significant artists, beginning with a group headlined by edgy collage and assemblage artist Shinro Ohtake in the inaugural edition and continuing with the likes of Yayoi Kusama, Tatsuo Miyajima, Yasumasa Morimura, Takashi Murakami and Hiroshi Sugimoto in subsequent editions.