Britain seems to finally have an eye for art from the Asia-Pacific, with several big recent exhibitions, including the new Rising Voices show at the V&A. Why did it take so long?<\/p>\n
An imposing new figure is greeting visitors inside the main entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in South Kensington. Standing on one side of the domed hall, across from the galleries dedicated to medieval and Renaissance European art, is a lifesize, fibreglass sculpture of a burly bouncer. The M\u0101ori nametag hanging from his belt loop suggests he has travelled a long way from home. <\/p>\n
This character, Kapa Haka (Whero) by Michael Parek\u014dwhai from Aotearoa New Zealand, is a symbolic guardian for the exhibition Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Produced in partnership with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane, the show includes more than 70 works which have never before been exhibited in the UK, by artists from 25 countries who have featured through the decades in QAGOMA\u2019s Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the latest in a recent wave of shows that have brought works from Australian galleries to international institutions. Last year, Tate Modern hosted Emily Kam Kngwarray<\/a> in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia, and the National Gallery of Victoria\u2019s exhibition The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art is now touring the US<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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