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Asia Triennial Manchester

In 2007/08, the idea of the inaugural Asia Triennial Manchester (ATM08) was proposed by Alnoor Mitha (Artistic Director of Shisha) and Professor John Hyatt (Director of MIRIAD). In order to explore contemporary art in Asia within the theme of ‘protest’, the project developed a methodology involving a new partnership model between curators, academics and artists, to launch the only event outside Asia aimed at showcasing contemporary visual art from the Asia Pacific region. ATM08 had 7 partners: Castlefield Gallery, Chinese Art Centre, Cornerhouse, The International 3, Manchester Art Gallery, MIRIAD and Shisha, with Mitha leading the project.

As a piece of applied research ATM08 set out to examine the diverse contemporary art practices of Asia, through a series of major art exhibitions, residencies and commissions. It aimed to increase awareness of Asian visual arts and crafts, creating collaborative networks of artists and curators, and bringing new works by emerging and major Asian contemporary artists, including Subodh Gupta (India), Han Bing (China), Rashid Rana (Pakistan) and Gwon Osang (Korea) to new audiences in the UK, many for the first time. It engaged the work of Asian artists with the international contemporary art market, and contributed to positioning Manchester as a key venue for international art, attracting visitors from as far afield as Japan, Taiwan and the USA. The associated symposium Protest:Reflections and Revolutions brought together academics, artists, theorists and curators to discuss the issues raised.

Building on the successful model of ATM08 (over 390,000 visitors) Mitha directed Asia Triennial Manchester 2011 (ATM11) working with the original partners and additional museums, galleries and cultural sites in Manchester, Bury and Cheshire, each undertaking specific curatorial initiatives. 18 core partners helped to deliver a programme comprising 35 new visual art and craft commissions, 7 film premiers and 4 commissioned dance performances.