Queensland Premier and Minister for Arts Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Friday that last summer’s ‘8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT8) at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) contributed an estimated $21.83 million to the state’s economy.
Palaszczuk said: ‘This is a great result for Queensland and QAGOMA, and the tourism value reflects the continued ability of The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) series to bolster our state as a tourism hotspot and must-see for interstate and international visitors.’
Since its 1993 launch, the APT has attracted 3,000,000 visitors and gained momentum as one of Queensland and Australia’s most critically-acclaimed contemporary arts events.
With an ever-growing profile, its influence continues to draw crowds, with over 152,000 event-related visitor nights generated for Queensland last summer alone. This almost doubles the figure for APT7 in 2013.
The APT series is the only recurring exhibition of its kind which surveys current and new art from the region. APT8, which ran from 21 November 2015 to 10 April 2016, exhibited major installations and artwork by 83 artists from more than 30 countries across spaces in both the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. Supported by the Queensland Government and Principal Partner Tourism and Events Queensland, it received significant assistance from the corporate sector and private foundations. The Australian Government supported the exhibition through the Australia Council for the Arts and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Kate Jones, said the Triennial was a great drawcard for Queensland and reinforced its growing reputation as a premier arts and cultural destination.
Jones said:
‘More than 21,000 interstate and international visitors travelled to Brisbane specifically to visit the APT8 exhibition, reflecting the growing popularity of this event. The Gallery’s leading exhibition series is a great addition to the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar, which promotes our state to visitors and supports jobs for Queenslanders.’
This summer the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) turns 10, a milestone event to be celebrated with a range of programs including another major drawcard for visitors: The free exhibition ‘Sugar Spin: You, Me, Art and Everything’ will feature over 200 artworks and will include many visitor favourites from the Gallery’s extensive collection.
The Garb Wire 