Translation: A Celebration of Asian Influence on Aotearoa/NZ Art Practice

We are wanting artists to examine the way that exchanges do not always have a direct representation across different cultures.  When speaking often we notice that another language uses different phraseology.  Translation of language is not a verbatim use of words.  This can provoke us to think more carefully about the construction of our own language and what we are trying to communicate.  The Translation event is intended to highlight how artists draw upon and acknowledge Asian cultural concepts for their artistic expression.  Different methods and cultural knowledge are shared and reimagined to facilitate communication and deeper understanding.  Importantly, conversations move back and forth as this understanding continues to grow and develop.

Translation reflects the nuanced relationship between Asian art and the diverse artistic practices in Aotearoa, New Zealand. In exploring how artists in Aotearoa New Zealand engage with Asian cultural frameworks, philosophies, and aesthetics, the exhibition will highlight the layered ways in which cultural heritage, migration, identity, and belonging are expressed through contemporary art. The exhibition invites a multiplicity of voices and perspectives.

Artists may examine the way that exchanges do not always have a direct representation across different cultures.  When speaking often we notice that another language uses different phraseology, when practicing we use a visual language where different methods and cultural knowledge are shared and reimagined to facilitate communication and deeper understanding.  Importantly, these conversations move back and forth as this understanding continues to grow and develop.

We invite artists to draw upon a wide spectrum of Asian traditions, concepts and practices – both historical and contemporary – as well as their own lived experiences. Each artist navigating and articulating their unique positions within Aotearoa’s social and cultural landscape. It is anticipated some works will reflect deeply personal narratives shaped by intergenerational connection or diasporic memory, while others explore broader themes such as hybridity, adaptation, otherness, and cross-cultural dialogue. Some may reflect a linguistic or visual discourse inferring translation as an exchange, homage, aesthetic shift or slippage- navigating a cultural space that lies between.

The park offers a setting that is unique  and dynamic, this exhibition will be situated in the Asian section of the Arboretum and Sculpture Park. It is anticipated that the art works will inform and respond to the site – acknowledging the richness of Asian cultural traditions and the transformative potential of art as a site for negotiation, storytelling, and community.   All art work should have structural integrity to ensure durability and meeting health and safety requirements.