Present Encounters was an international conference co-organised to coincide with APT2 by the Queensland Art Gallery and Griffith University's Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations. It was held at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre from 27 to 29 September 1996, and attracted some 600 international and national delegates from 21 countries. The conference papers were published as Present Encounters: Papers from the conference, The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 1996.
The APT2 Visitors' Program involved 28 participating artists and curators and 21 institutions throughout Australia, including regional Queensland.
The extensive education program for APT2 included artists' talks, performances, film screenings, and an artists in schools residency program. A resource centre in the exhibition screened videos of artists' performances and talks, as well as video art from the region, and the Triennial intranet site.
A Resource Kit was produced by the Gallery, with additional funds from the Australia Foundation for Culture and the Humanities. It was distributed through the Queensland Department of Education to all schools in metropolitan and regional Queensland. A smaller number was distributed nationally through the education departments of other states and territories.
