A lot has happened since the last Asia Pacific Triennial in 2021, which opened, quietly, during Covid border lockdowns in Queensland. Besides a global pandemic, Trump won a second term, two major wars have erupted, and climate change has marched grimly onwards, with countless extreme weather events and temperature records broken.
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the billboard announcing the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial is emblazoned with the optimistic slogan: “Art that lifts you up”. Does it, though? Should it?
