Cross-Cultural Exchanges and Interconnections from the 1980s and 1990s: ARX and the APT

The late 1980s and early 1990s were a proactive and pivotal period in Australia's engagement with contemporary Asian art. Australia increasingly began to explore the vibrant practices of artists from the region and key exhibitions that embraced the work of artists from Asia were established. These initiatives, set within a domestic political environment that heralded Australia as neither a fringe dweller nor an interloper, but mainstream partner11. Gareth Evans, The Challenge of Asia for Australian Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs II 32, no. 4 (December 1993): 6667. View all notes in the region, led to a reconsideration of Asia's importance on economic, social and cultural levels. If perhaps ultimately overambitious, Australia's early 1990s aspiration to be accepted as part of Asia led to shifts in cultural policies and the development of artistic initiatives which provided platforms that had significant consequences and resonance beyond Australia. A number of the artists and curators involved have emphasised the importance of these events for cross-cultural exchanges of ideas and for Australia's participation in contemporary art in Asia.