Global Grooves 2026/2027

Global Grooves: Cosmopolitanism and Contemporary Asian Art is presented at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art from 5 December 2026 to 19 September 2027.

The exhibition explores how artists from Asia became part of international contemporary art networks throughout the second half of the twentieth century and into the present.

Rather than presenting Asian art as isolated from international movements, Global Grooves traces connections with Fluxus, psychedelia, minimalism, and the expansion of global biennials during the 1990s and beyond.

The exhibition features major works from the QAGOMA collection alongside recent acquisitions.

Artists represented include Nam June Paik, Rasheed Araeen, and Sopheap Pich.

Their practices demonstrate how artistic ideas moved between countries, institutions, and cultural environments long before the contemporary art world became as globally connected as it is today.

For ArtExpoWorld readers, Global Grooves provides an important historical framework for understanding why Asian contemporary art now occupies such a central position in international museums, fairs, and biennials.

Global Grooves is installed in Gallery 3.3 at the Gallery of Modern Art.

The exhibition examines several generations of artistic exchange.

One strand looks at Japanese and Korean participation in international experimental movements such as Fluxus.

Another considers the impact of minimalism and psychedelia.

Later works explore the transformation of contemporary art during the rise of international biennials in the 1990s.

These developments changed the geography of the art world.

Artists working in Asia increasingly participated in global exhibitions, while museums outside the region began collecting contemporary Asian art more systematically.

Global Grooves places these histories together rather than treating them as separate national stories.

The exhibition includes sculpture, installation, video and other media.

Nam June Paik’s TV cello demonstrates the merging of technology, performance and sculpture.

Rasheed Araeen’s geometric work connects modernist form with questions of identity and international art history.

Sopheap Pich represents another generation in which local materials and global contemporary language coexist.

Global Grooves 2026/2027 Event Overview

Global Grooves 2026/2027 – Contemporary Asian Art at GOMA Brisbane

QAGOMA’s engagement with contemporary Asian art stretches back to the first Asia Pacific Triennial in 1993. That inaugural exhibition was the first project of its kind in the world focused specifically on contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific.

Dates:

5 December 2026 - 19 September 2027

Location:

Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Mission:

The mission of Global Grooves is to examine how contemporary Asian art became part of international artistic networks. The exhibition challenges the idea that modern and contemporary art developed primarily in Europe and North America before spreading elsewhere. Artists in Asia were active participants in experimental movements, international exchanges and new forms of artistic production. Global Grooves therefore presents art history as a network rather than a one-directional story. The exhibition also asks what cosmopolitanism means in contemporary culture. Artists may live in one country, study in another, exhibit internationally and work with ideas shaped by multiple traditions. Their work cannot always be explained through nationality alone. By tracing these relationships, QAGOMA encourages visitors to see contemporary Asian art as part of global art history rather than as a specialist regional category.

Organizer:

Global Grooves is organised by Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. The exhibition draws from QAGOMA’s contemporary Asian art holdings and includes recent acquisitions. The institution has developed one of Australia’s most significant collections of contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific. Its Asia Pacific Triennial programme has played a major role in this development since 1993. Global Grooves builds on this history by examining how artists from the region participated in global artistic movements and networks.

Why attend to Global Grooves 2026/2027?

Global Grooves is worth visiting because it provides historical context for contemporary art that visitors may already encounter at major international exhibitions.

For students, the exhibition offers an introduction to movements such as Fluxus and minimalism through artists working across different cultural contexts.

For curators and researchers, it demonstrates how institutions can build regional knowledge over several decades.

For collectors, the exhibition helps place contemporary Asian artists within longer histories rather than viewing them only through current market trends.

For technology and media-art audiences, Nam June Paik provides an essential connection between early electronic art and contemporary digital culture.

For cultural travellers, free admission makes Global Grooves easy to combine with other QAGOMA exhibitions during the same visit.

The exhibition also benefits from its long duration, remaining open through most of 2027.

Ticket Information

General admission costs

Admission to Global Grooves is free.

GOMA is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00.

The gallery opens from 12 noon on Anzac Day.

It is closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

No standard exhibition ticket is required.

Some related talks, tours, or events may require advance booking.

Visitors should check the event calendar before traveling if they want to attend a specific program.

Getting There:

The Gallery of Modern Art is located at Stanley Place in South Brisbane within the Queensland Cultural Centre.

The gallery sits beside the Brisbane River and approximately 150 metres from Queensland Art Gallery.

South Brisbane railway station and Cultural Centre bus station provide convenient public transport access.

Visitors can also reach the precinct on foot from Brisbane CBD across the river.

Taxi, rideshare and bicycle access are available.

Paid parking is available within the Queensland Cultural Centre.

Brisbane Airport connects with the city by rail, taxi, rideshare and private transfer.

Accommodation

South Bank is one of the most convenient areas for visitors focused on QAGOMA and other cultural institutions.

The neighbourhood offers hotels, restaurants and riverfront walking routes.

Brisbane CBD provides a wider choice of accommodation within walking or public transport distance.

West End may appeal to visitors looking for independent restaurants and a more local atmosphere.

Fortitude Valley offers nightlife and boutique hotels but requires transport to the gallery.

Visitors planning several cultural days should consider staying close to South Bank or the city centre.

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Gallery: Global Grooves 2026/2027

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History & Context of a Global Grooves 2026/2027

QAGOMA has a particularly important history of engagement with contemporary Asian and Pacific art.

In 1993, Queensland Art Gallery presented the first Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

It was the first major exhibition project of its kind to focus specifically on contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific.

The inaugural triennial brought together nearly 200 works by 76 artists from countries and territories across the region.

Over subsequent decades, the Asia Pacific Triennial helped build QAGOMA’s collection and research expertise.

This history gives Global Grooves an institutional depth that few Australian museums can match.

Many works in the exhibition were acquired through long-term relationships with artists and regional art networks.

The exhibition can therefore be read partly as a history of QAGOMA’s own changing understanding of contemporary Asia.

It also reflects a larger transformation in the international art world.

By the 1990s, the rapid growth of biennials made geographic boundaries increasingly difficult to maintain.

Tips for Visitors of Global Grooves 2026/2027

Allow at least one hour for Global Grooves.

Do not approach the exhibition country by country.

Instead, look for connections between artists, movements, and time periods.

Spend additional time with Nam June Paik’s work.

The use of television technology may seem familiar today, but it was radical in the context in which his practice developed.

Observe the materials used by artists such as Sopheap Pich.

Local material traditions can coexist alongside international contemporary art languages without contradiction.

If you are unfamiliar with the Asia Pacific Triennial, explore QAGOMA’s related collection displays or research materials after the exhibition.

The institutional history helps explain why these works are in Brisbane.

Tips from the ArtExpoWorld

Do not think of this as a survey of 'Asian style.'

There is no single Asian style here.

The exhibition is about movement: artists, ideas, technologies, and influences crossing borders.

Look for the connections rather than trying to identify national characteristics.

Be the First to Access Official "Global Grooves 2026/2027" Tickets

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Editor’s Note

Global Grooves matters because art history becomes distorted when every path is made to lead through Europe or the United States.

For ArtExpoWorld, the exhibition’s strength lies in its networked perspective on culture.

Artists in Asia were not waiting to be discovered by the global art world.

They were already engaged in experimental movements, building their own connections and transforming contemporary practice.

Global Grooves makes that history visible.

It is an important exhibition for anyone who wants to understand how the contemporary art world became truly international.

Global Grooves 2026/2027

Global Grooves 2026/2027 Event Overview

Global Grooves 2026/2027 – Contemporary Asian Art at GOMA Brisbane

Dates:

Location:

Why attend to Global Grooves 2026/2027?

Ticket Information

Getting There:

Accommodation

Don't Miss an Exhibition

Gallery: Global Grooves 2026/2027

Secure Your Spot at Global Grooves 2026/2027 — Before It's Too Late

History & Context of a Global Grooves 2026/2027

Tips for Visitors of Global Grooves 2026/2027

Tips from the ArtExpoWorld

Be the First to Access Official "Global Grooves 2026/2027" Tickets

Editor’s Note

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