'The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art's flagship contemporary art series. Since 1993, the APT series has drawn more than three million visitors with its unique mix of presenting the most exciting and important contemporary art from the region and offering cross-cultural insight. The APT takes over QAGOMA every three years with the exhibition, film program, Children’s Art Centre projects, and a dedicated public program of talks and workshops. Enabling the Gallery to develop expertise and partnerships in the region, the APT has fostered the development of one of the world's most significant collections of contemporary Asian and Pacific art.

QAGOMA’s Asia Pacific Council is an incubator for organisations who conduct business across Australia, Asia and the Pacific, to share knowledge and cultural engagement about the region and support 'The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art'.

Born into a family of seafarers, Martha Atienza creates video, sound and installation works that explore the experience of being at sea and address histories of migration, labour, environmental degradation and identity. More than 400 000 Filipinos work on board some type of vessel, making them the largest group of seafaring people in the world. Atienza uses art as a tool for social change by working directly with the community of Madridejos on Bantayan Island, where her family is from, to address the problems this small fishing community faces due to poverty, environmental change, and the long absence of family members at sea. Atienza’s work, while based on specifically local concerns and culture, has global significance and highlights common issues shared across the more than 7000 islands of the Philippines.