11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Blockbuster exhibition the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is on display at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) from November 30 to April 27, 2025.

Bursting with colour and life, the Asia Pacific Triennial is a vibrant mix of creativity and culture, and, best of all, it's free, making it the must-do experience this summer! 

The Asia Pacific Triennial, only in Brisbane, at QAGOMA features bold, groundbreaking contemporary works from over 70 emerging and established artists, collectives, and filmmakers spanning 30+ countries. For the first time in the series, the Triennial also includes artists and works from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Timor-Leste and Uzbekistan.

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

Among the many highlights in the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial are:

• 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 are 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 encourages 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 represents 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 Philippines. Tul-an sang aton kamal-aman (Bones of our elders) reframes 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 is 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.

• 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.

• Five Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema programs exploring central Asian cinema and futurism on screen, alongside comprehensive career surveys of prominent film directors Tsai Ming-liang, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Kamila Andini. A live music and film event with composer and musician Eiko Ishibashi.

The Triennial is also accompanied by artist talks, events and live performances, curated cinema programs, community engagement initiatives and children’s projects, including 7 interactive Children’s Art Centre exhibitions.

Good to know - The free South Brisbane bus loop (route 86) stops a right out the front of the Gallery. The service runs in an anti-clockwise direction along Grey Street, Montague Road, Vulture Street and Tribune Street and bus stops are a distinctive green and white colour. This free bus operates every 10-15 minutes, between 10.00am and 11.00pm, 7 days a week.

Getting there - QAGOMA is right next to the Cultural Centre Busway station and a short walk from the South Brisbane train station and the South Bank CityCat and Ferry terminal. Parking for the Cultural Precinct is available in two neighbouring carparks under the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and State Library of Queensland (SLQ), both accessible via Stanley Place.

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