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Brisbane’s screen culture event of the year is back for its second year at QAGOMA

Posted by QAGOMA ● 22 Aug 2019

QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque is excited to present its second year of the long-running and much-loved Brisbane International Film Festival. Across 11 days from 3 October, BIFF 2019 celebrates contemporary international and Australian screen culture with more than 170 world-class new-release features, documentaries, short films and curated strands, alongside screenings with live music, conversations, panel discussions, cultural events and industry engagement opportunities, presented city-wide.

Visit BIFF.com.au Tickets now on sale

The Festival celebrates creativity in all its forms, delving in to how filmmakers, screen creatives and musicians strive to connect with the audience. Sparked by pivotal films and documentaries in our curated strands — and the accompanying GOMA exhibition ‘Setting the Stage’ — we unpack the creative process, trace new directions in filmmaking, amplify the importance of sound in film and celebrate screen culture in its growing multitude of forms, from silent cinema to artificial intelligence.

Related: Watch BIFF Trailers

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BIFF opening night

The Queensland premiere of the darkly funny Judy & Punch 2019, by Australian actor and first-time director Mirrah Foulkes, will set the mood for a classy red-carpet opening night event at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA on Thursday 3 October.

BIFF highlights

Highlights include the Queensland premieres of Céline Sciamma’s sizzling Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 and Pedro Almodóvar’s deeply personal Pain and Glory, for which Antonio Banderas was awarded Best Actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Two new Australian films starring Hugo Weaving will screen — Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones 2019, and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure 2019.

BIFF 2019 also features the captivating new documentaries Memory: The Origins of Alien 2019, an investigative ode to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic; Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s fearless One Child Nation 2019, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival; and the world premiere of Quilty: Painting the Shadows 2019, Catherine Hunter’s look at the work and life of Australian artist Ben Quilty. ‘Quilty‘ the exhibition is currently showing alongside ‘Margaret Olley: A Generous Life’ at GOMA until Sunday 13 October.

BIFF’s thrilling world premiere film and live music events include champion Brisbane beatboxer Tom Thum and special guests performing a new score to early Russian science-fiction classic Aelita: Queen of Mars 1924, and Australian band HTRK playing their highly layered guitar and electronic soundtrack to Jeffrey Peixoto’s documentary Over the Rainbow 2019.

Biff Food and Film

In a sublime combination of food and film, the stunning eco-documentary Honeyland will be followed by a sumptuous, one-time-only honey-themed degustation at the GOMA Restaurant from QAGOMA Executive Chef Doug Innes-Will. Tickets to this special event on Thursday 10 October are limited.

Biff Festival Patrons

We’re delighted to welcome this year’s Festival Patrons — two iconic luminaries of Australian film — Academy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer Baz Luhrmann and his collaborator of over 30 years, Academy Award-winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin. The powerhouse duo have fused a pioneering bond which brought to the world stage a spectacle of opulence and lavish melodrama seldom seen in Australian cinema.

Celebrating five exciting films that spring from the rich and unique creative relationship between director Baz Luhrmann and designer Catherine Martin, from the stylish, breakout comedy Strictly Ballroom 1992 through to the opulent adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby 2013, relive the excitement through this selection of career highlights. The BAFTA-winning Romeo + Juliet 1996 is a vivid and turbulent take on the Shakespearean tragedy, Australia 2008 is a romance writ large and the musical spectacular Moulin Rouge! 2001, nominated for Best Picture, won Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

Baz Luhrmann has also handpicked some of his favourite films to share with audiences at BIFF 2019. A collection of incredible cinematic spectacles, these films speak to the visual wit and inventiveness for which Luhrmann is known. Journey into the heart of darkness with Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinary depiction of war in Apocalypse Now: Final Cut 1979/2019 before taking a trip into the imagination of one of cinema’s greatest filmmakers with Federico Fellini’s 8½ 1963. Soak in the grandeur of Sergei Bondarchuk’s epic adaptation of War and Peace 1966 — the most expensive film ever made in the Soviet Union — and indulge in the ravishing musical numbers of Bob Fosse’s Palme d’Or-winning All that Jazz 1979.

Biff Festival Ambassador

We’re also thrilled to announce Damien Anthony Rossi, from The Sunday Mail and Channel 7’s Great Day Out, as Festival Ambassador for BIFF 2019. Rossi is a long-time BIFF buff who will bring his dynamic energy to Opening Night and events throughout the Festival.

Biff Tickets are on sale now

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BIFF 2019 is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland and the Australian Federal Government through Screen Australia and is presented in conjunction with cinema and venue partners throughout Brisbane.

Feature image detail: Measure for Measure / Director: Paul Ireland / Scriptwriters: Damian Hill, Paul Ireland (based on the play by William Shakespeare) / Producers: Damian Hill, Paul Ireland / Cast: Hugo Weaving, Harrison Gilbertson, Megan Hajjar / Rights: Umbrella Entertainment

#BIFFest2019 #QAGOMA

A moment in Japanese history

Posted by QAGOMA ● 21 Aug 2019

Photography from the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912) captures a moment in Japanese history when influences and technologies were beginning to interact with traditional life, and the nation was on the verge of social transformation that would signal the end of the ‘floating world’ culture of centuries past.

ARTWORK STORIES: Delve into QAGOMA’s Collection highlights for a rich exploration of the work and its creator

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Kimbei Kusakabe, Japan 1841-c.1934 / Hairdresser c.1880 / Vintage hand-coloured albumen photograph mounted on board — Kimbei Kusakabe, Japan 1841-c.1934 / *Hairdresser* c.1880 / Vintage hand-coloured albumen photograph mounted on board / 26.5 x 20.5cm (comp.) / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

For many travellers to Japan in the nineteenth century, a photographic album was a highly sought-after commemoration of their visit. The sophisticated images taken by Felice (Felix) Beato, and later Baron Raimund von Stillfried-Ratenicz, also contributed significantly to the international image of Japan during a formative period in Japanese history. Their portraits of porters, performers, street musicians and traders are stylised representations of social classes. Their early success was, in part, due to their ability to selectively present Japan as an oasis from the industrialised world.

Differences between the photographs and the wider realities of the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912) reflected the transcultural interactions and political economics specific to late nineteenth-century Japan.

Felice Beato

Felice (Felix) Beato, Italy/England 1832-1909 / Yakatabune (pleasure boat) on lake (from 'Japan' album) 1867-68 — Felice (Felix) Beato, Italy/England 1832-1909 / *Yakatabune (pleasure boat) on lake (from ‘Japan’ album)* 1867-68 / Hand-coloured albumen photograph on board (originally bound in an album) / 19 x 24.3cm (comp.) / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Yakatabune (pleasure boat) on lake 1867-68 is part of a group of early hand-coloured photographs that reflect the introduction of commercial photography to Japan during the Meiji Restoration, a period of rapid modernisation as the country transitioned from a class-based feudal system to a society open to increased economic and cultural exchange.

After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1858, Yokohama developed rapidly as a prominent port city for many foreign visitors who brought with them new ideas and technologies. One of these visitors was the enterprising Italian–born photographer Felice Beato, who had previously documented conflicts in India and China. Beato established a photographic studio in Japan in 1863 and became the first foreign photographer to work extensively in the country.

Beato’s photographic interests encompassed portraits, landscapes, and scenes from daily life. He often applied the skills of local artisans and woodblock printmakers who used colour to highlight intricate details such as facial features or the motifs on a kimono, giving the subjects a more animated form. Beato sold his photography stock and business in 1877, and subsequently turned to trading silver in which he lost his fortune. He left Japan in 1884 and set up a studio in Burma in the 1890s.

Baron Raimund von Stillfried‑Ratenicz

Austrian-born Stillfried-Ratenicz trained as a painter and had pursued varied careers before settling in Yokohama as a photographer around 1868. He established the studio Stillfried & Co, which he ran until 1875; it then became Stillfried & Anderson and operated for a further decade, during which time he bought the studio and stock of Felice Beato. Stillfried-Ratenicz trained many young Japanese photographers, including Kusakabe Kimbei, to whom he sold the majority of his stock before leaving Japan in 1886.

Baron Raimund von Stillfried‑Ratenicz, Austria 1839‑1911, active Japan 1871‑86 / (Food seller) (from 'Japan' album) early 1870s — Baron Raimund von Stillfried‑Ratenicz, Austria 1839‑1911, active Japan 1871‑86 / *(Food seller) (from ‘Japan’ album)* early 1870s / Hand-coloured albumen photograph on board (originally bound in an album) / 19 x 24.3cm (comp.) / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Feature image detail: Baron Raimund von Stillfried‑Ratenicz (Food seller) (from ‘Japan’ album) early 1870s

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Margaret Olley: So much herself

Posted by QAGOMA ● 17 Aug 2019

Christine France offers her personal reflections on Margaret Olley’s life, work and her generous spirit. Margaret was generous in her friendships, extraordinarily generous. Later on in life, when she could afford it, she was generous with gifting things to institutions. She reached out to friends, would pay their fares to places and publish books for them. Margaret had some very early experiences of giving which served as examples to her. Early on in her career she met Howard Hinton. He would buy paintings, hang them end to end on his bedroom wall, and store them under his bed. Later, he gifted them all to the Teacher’s College in Armidale.¹He set a very strong example for Margaret.

Lewis Morley, Hong Kong/England/Australia 1925–2013 / Portrait Margaret Olley 1998 — Lewis Morley, Hong Kong/England/Australia 1925–2013 / *Portrait Margaret Olley* 1998 / Gelatin silver photograph / 24.1 x 36.6 cm / Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra / © Lewis Morley/ National Science & Media Museum/ Science & Society Picture Library

Greg Weight, Australia b.1946 / Portrait Margaret Olley 1991 — Greg Weight, Australia b.1946 / *Portrait Margaret Olley* 1991 / Gelatin silver photograph / 36.2 x 45.3cm / Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004 / Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra / Image reproduced courtesy of Greg Weight / © Greg Weight

RELATED: Margaret Olley

Australian artists across generations are represented in Margaret Olley’s benefaction, including works by her forebear Ethel Carrick Fox, and contemporary Margaret Cilento. She also gifted works by Pablo Picasso, Georges William Thornley, and Edgar Degas into the QAGOMA Collection.

Ethel Carrick Fox

Margaret Cilento

She learnt another lesson about being generous when she went to England. She missed out on the travelling art scholarship, but her friend Anne Wienholt, who’s another Queenslander, sent her the money to go. Olley never ever forgot that. When she was overseas, she’d be admiring a painting, look at the plaque beside it and say, ‘Oh, it was donated by someone’. She thought it was a really wonderful thing to have done. So as soon as she got a bit of money, she started donating to public institutions, and the first thing she bought was Anne Wienholt’s bronze sculpture The medium 1984, which she gave to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1988.²

Christine France OAM Curator and author

Endnotes
¹ These works are now held in the New England Regional Art Museum Collection.
² Anne Wienholt, The medium 1984, Gift of Margaret Olley 1988, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

An extract from Margaret Olley–A Generous Life, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2019. Read in full Simon Elliott and Christine France, ‘So much herself: A conversation about Margaret Olley’ pp. 178-195.

Pablo Picasso

Georges William Thornley after Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degar, France 1834-1917 / Three views of Danseuse regardant la plante de son pied droit, quatrième étude (Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot, fourth study) c.1882-1900, cast before 1954 — Edgar Degar, France 1834-1917 / Three views of *Danseuse regardant la plante de son pied droit, quatrième étude (Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot, fourth study)* c.1882-1900, cast before 1954 / Bronze, dark brown and green patina / 46.2 x 25 x 18cm / Gift of Philip Bacon AM, in memory of Margaret Olley AC, through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2012. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

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‘A Generous Life’ at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) 15 June – 13 October 2019 examined the legacy and influence of much-loved Australian artist Margaret Olley, who spent a formative part of her career in Brisbane. A charismatic character, whose life was immersed in art, she exerted a lasting impact on many artists as a mentor, friend and muse.

Featured image: Margaret Olley and William Dobell in ‘Painting People’ 1965 in front of William Dobell’s 1948 Archibald Prize–winning portrait of Olley / Still supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection / © NFSA
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Autumn breezes fortified for an abundance of winters to come

Posted by QAGOMA ● 12 Aug 2019

QAGOMA conservators collaborated with specialist East Asian Art Conservator Jennifer Loubser to assess the conservation repairs necessary to stabilise an unusual 8-panel Japanese folding screen, Scenes from Genji Monogatari to allow its safe handling and display – in assessing the condition of the work when it came into the Collection it was found that hundreds of years of use and display had caused four sets of the delicate paper hinges connecting the three right panels to become weakened and in danger of becoming completely broken and detached.

Behind-the-scenes: Conservation of an 18th Century 8-panel Japanese folding screen

Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Tosa School, Japan / *Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji)* 18th century / Ink and colour on silk on wooden framed screen with four pairs of metal hangers / 83 x 233cm (overall); 83 x 37.5cm (each panel) / Gift of James Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2018 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Paper was an expensive item in Japan during the 18^th century. Among luxuries, paper appears to have been used sparingly in the delicate construction of this folding screen, perhaps to allow for a generous excess of chume sunago (flakes of gold leaf) throughout the painted silk surface, and surrounding kinran (gold thread silk borders). The graceful brush-work of the artist’s hand detailing dainty patterns in layers of the court ladies’ silk kimono garments adds an ornate appeal to this fine example of a koshi-byobu (waist-height folding screen).

This screen has survived in excellent condition for hundreds of years, as the tradition of seasonal displays is still strong in Japan. Rotating artworks provides rest and protection, so they too may live longer lives. Folding screens known as ‘byobu’, are constructed with the intention to provide a delightful continuous scene over a wide area, while creating privacy and shelter from drafts. The panels are connected by hinges made entirely of strong Japanese paper which can last a thousand years when well cared for. Through normal use folding and unfolding, paper hinges see the most wear and tear. These moving parts may need repairs or reconstruction after several hundred years. Displaying byobu standing in an accordion pattern allows them to be free-standing and also protects screens from being overextended. If folding screens are displayed completely flat their hinges can begin to strain and tension may be exerted across the painted surface.

Lifting hinges (Before Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Lifting hinges (Before Conservation)

Repaired hinges (After conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Repaired hinges (After conservation)

Conservator Jennifer Loubser re-attaching detached kinpaku gold leaf hinge papers. Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Conservator Jennifer Loubser re-attaching detached kinpaku gold leaf hinge papers

This folding screen was stabilised just in time, before the failing hinges began to cause splits across the paintings. Weakened with use over centuries, hinges had torn apart from the adjacent panels. Gold leaf had delaminated from single-layer paper hinges. It was crucial to support these frail connections with museum quality Japanese handmade paper sub-hinges. Traditional Japanese art conservation methods and materials including plant-based watercolours and pure gold pigments to infill loss areas were used in continuity with the original artist materials. The autumn story depicted in this painting has now been fortified with strength to weather an abundance of seasons ahead.

Detached Hinge (Before Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Detached Hinge (Before Conservation)

Supported Hinge (During Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Supported Hinge (During Conservation)

Upper Hinge Re-Attached (After Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Upper Hinge Re-Attached (After Conservation)

Related: A Fleeting Bloom Read about necessary conservation repairs to stabilise works in the exhibition

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This 8-panel folding screen is now standing proudly in the Queensland Art Gallery as part of ‘A Fleeting Bloom’. The stunning display of antique Japanese artworks in the exhibition are fine examples of delicate artistic rendition and quality materials. I highly recommend seeing these in person if you enjoy spending time with refined details and aesthetics of splendid open spaces.

Jennifer Loubser is an East Asian Art Conservator

Before and After Conservation

Lower Hinge Re-Attached (After Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Lower Hinge Re-Attached (After Conservation)

Reverse hinges, detached (Before conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Reverse hinges, detached (Before conservation)

Reverse hinges re-attached (After Conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Reverse hinges re-attached (After Conservation)

Detail of arame sunago, large gold leaf flaked paper. Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Detail of *arame sunago*, large gold leaf flaked paper

Detached gold leaf hinge (Before conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Detached gold leaf hinge (Before conservation)

Detached gold leaf hinge (After conservation). Tosa School, Japan / Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century — Detached gold leaf hinge (After conservation)

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Learn more about Traditional Japanese Art Conservation in Australia

Caring for Japanese folding screens: Free-Sackler Conservators demonstrate Safe Handling for Japanese folding screens

Feature image detail: Tosa School Eight-fold screen: Scenes from Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji) 18th century

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Albert Namatjira, an Australian identity

Posted by QAGOMA ● 5 Aug 2019

William Dargie’s iconic image of Albert Namatjira has become the most identifiable image of the artist, and Ben Quilty and Vincent Namatjira have each been inspired to incorporate this original into their versions.

Ben Quilty’s painting Albert 2004 features two identifiable Australian identities placed together, Namatjira, the pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art, and the budgerigar, native to Australia, its common name derived from a Gamilaraay Aboriginal language name ‘Betcherrygah’.

By placing these incongruous images side by side, Quilty highlights their usual association. By juxtaposing Namatjra’s portrait with a bird once free, now caged and bred in captivity into a range of uncharacteristic colours and patterns, Quilty considers the idea of Australian identity and its connection to place.

Albert

From the series Beauty rich and rare, Quilty brings together artists and pet birds into diptychs, such as Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Namatjira. The portrait of Namatjira is borrowed from William Dargie’s Portrait of Albert Namatjira which won the 1956 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The painting was acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) in 1957, since then, it has become accepted as the iconic image of Australia’s most recognised Indigenous artist.

As the first prominent Aboriginal artist to work in a modern idiom, Namatjira was widely regarded as a representative of assimilation, able to bring traditions together… [Quilty] confronts the question of what constitutes a genuinely Australian Art… Are Namatjira’s works in a Western idiom less authentic than those by the celebrated exponents of Australian nationalism.¹

Endnote
¹ Michael Desmond, Ben Quilty Live, The University of Queensland Art Museum, 2009, p.82.

Portrait of Albert Namatjira

Portrait of Albert Namatjira 1956 is a conventional portrait — a seated half-figure painted from life. In mid-twentieth-century Australia, Indigenous people had rarely figured in a genre that confirmed the status of ‘elder statesman’ upon its subjects. William Dargie’s name was synonymous with the portrayal of ‘captains of industry’, a portrait by Dargie represented the confirmation of great social value and this portrait of Namatjira challenged the attitudes of 1950s Australia.

RELATED: Albert Namatjira

William Dargie / Portrait of Albert Namatjira 1956 — William Dargie, Australia 1912–2003 / *Portrait of Albert Namatjira* 1956 / Oil on canvas / 102.1 x 76.4 cm / Purchased 1957 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA

Albert and Vincent

Albert and Vincent 2014 is the result of Vincent Namatjira’s visit to QAGOMA to view Portrait of Albert Namatjira 1956 by William Dargie. Previously Vincent had seen the work only as a reproduction, and as a portrait painter whose work is often inspired by the image and cultural impact of his grandfather, he had a strong desire to view the work in person. Visiting the Gallery, Vincent sketched the portrait taking his sketches home to finish the work. Albert and Vincent now hangs alongside the painting that inspired it.

RELATED: Albert and Vincent Namatjira

Vincent Namatjira / Albert and Vincent 2014 — Vincent Namatjira, Western Aranda/Pitjantatjara people b.1983 / *Albert and Vincent* 2014 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / 120 x 100cm / Gift of Dirk and Karen Zadra through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2014. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Vincent Namatjira/Licensed by Copyright Agency

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Acknowledgment of Country
The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land upon which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past and present and, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledge the immense creative contribution Indigenous people make to the art and culture of this country.

It is customary in many Indigenous communities not to mention the name or reproduce photographs of the deceased. All such mentions and photographs are with permission, however, care and discretion should be exercised.

Featured image details by William Dargie, Ben Quilty, and Vincent Namatjira
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Contemporary Patrons travel to the Honolulu Biennial

Posted by QAGOMA ● 30 Jul 2019

Members of the Gallery’s Contemporary Patrons group travelled to Hawai‘i recently to experience the second iteration of the Honolulu Biennial (HB19), a two-month celebration of contemporary art from Hawaii and the Pacific.

HB19 MAKE WRONG / RIGHT / NOW featured 47 artists and artist collectives from Hawai’i and the countries and continents linked by the Pacific, with its title drawn from the poem Manifesto by participating Native Hawaiian artist Imaikalani Kalahele. The Biennial’s strong commitment and ambition to present and nurture contemporary art and artists in Hawai’i was evident in this second presentation, which extended to multiple venues and sites across the city.

QAGOMA’s visit began with a tour of the Bishop Museum’s extensive collection, led by artist and cultural advisor, Marques Marzan. The Museum’s objects, photographs and displays provided valuable insights into Hawai’ian history and Hawai’i’s connection to other Pacific island cultures, as well as context for a number of contemporary issues referenced and expressed by artists in works displayed in the Biennial.

A tour of the Bishop Museum, led by Marques Marzan

Warmly welcomed by the HB19 Board, Executive Director, Curators and staff, as well as representatives from the Bishop Museum, Ali‘iolani Hale and Honolulu Museum of Art, QAGOMA’s Contemporary Patrons were deeply moved by the ‘aloha’ spirit extended to them by all associated with the Biennial.

Over three days the group enjoyed a varied itinerary taking in special HB19 preview tours and opening events at the Biennial’s primary exhibition space ‘The Hub’, as well as viewings and tours at partner sites including Foster Botanical Gardens, Ali‘iolani Hale, Honolulu Museum of Art and the Hawai‘i State Art Museum. These provided opportunities to meet and hear directly from a large number of HB19 exhibiting artists as well as local curators.

Related: APT ‘The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT) is the Gallery’s flagship contemporary art series. Since 1993, the series has presented a unique mix of the most exciting and important contemporary art from the region.

While in Honolulu, the group also connected with resident artists who featured in previous instalments of QAGOMA’s flagship exhibition series, ‘The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT). Artists Masami Teraoka (APT5) and Solomon Enos (APT6) both generously opened their studios to share current projects and discuss recent developments in their practice.

Masami Teraoka

Solomon Enos

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Another opportunity not to be missed was a visit to the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design, the former Honolulu home of American heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke (1912-1993). Inspired by Duke’s extensive travels throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia and reflecting architectural traditions from India, Iran, Morocco and Syria, a tour provided by the Honoulu Museum of Art of this opulent home located on absolute beachfront was among the highlights of a very enlightening and stimulating trip.

Dominique Jones is Foundation Philanthropy Manager, QAGOMA

Contemporary Patrons at the Honolulu Museum of Art / Members of the Gallery’s Contemporary Patrons group, accompanied by QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM, travelled to Hawai‘i in early March 2019

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Feature image detail: Solomon Enos Polyfantastica 2018, HB19

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