I am Gurgun
Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, 24 October 2025 – 31 January 2026 Review by Margaret Cassidy Two years in the preparation, this exhibition is a retrospective of fifty years of art …
Exhibitions
The Met’s Renovated Rockefeller Wing: A Masterpiece of Scholarship and Museology
by Noelle Rathmell-Stiels On 31 May 2025 the New York Metropolitan Museum’s south side opened its doors to the public after a four-year, $70 million update. The redesign, which spans an …
Papua New Guinea Community Celebrations in Canberra
by Margaret Cassidy Institutional engagement with the local Papua New Guinea community and events to launch exhibitions to mark the 50th anniversary of independence of Papua New Guinea were held …
Bilong PNG: four works to discover
by Crispin Howarth, Curator Pacific Arts, National Gallery of Australia The 16th of September 2025 marks the historic milestone of the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s Independence, the beginning …
De ma peinture surgit et survit mon âme [From my painting, my soul emerges and lives on]
This exhibition’s title, which sounds as much like an urgent need for preservation as it does a victory against oblivion, has left its mark on the minds of all French lovers of contemporary art from Papua New Guinea (PNG).
BILONG PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Reflecting on 50 years of independence
BILONG PAPUA NEW GUINEA showcases the National Gallery of Australia’s impressive collection of Papua New Guinean art across diverse media – sculptures, prints, paintings, bark-cloth, and bilums.
Paradise Palette
The vibrancy, colour, cultural depth, diversity and life of Australia’s closest neighbour was on show in this exhibition of mostly self-taught artists from Papua New Guinea seen in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in late 2024.
A Dilettante in the Humboldt Forum
by David Hourigan I have been responsible for the graphic design of each OAS Journal for many, many years. I do not collect Oceanic art (my own collecting focuses on …
Tibuta – Kinaakiia Ainen Kiribati: Tibuta – Identifies Kiribati Women Exhibition
Bottle Creek Gallery, Pātaka art + Museum, Porirua, Aotearoa New Zealand, 7 October - 11 November 2023. Catalogue published by Te Rabakau Press, 2023.
Te Ra: Navigating Home
Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, until Sunday 17 August 2025. Review by Margaret Cassidy Navigating Home is definitely the right title for this exhibition of cultural homecoming tucked into …
Tidal Kin: Stories from the Pacific, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney
What this fascinating and informative exhibition shows is that Pacific Islanders have been visiting the Sydney area since the days of the Endeavour, sharing their rich cultures and artistic practices.
Vincent Namatjira: Australia in Colour
Adelaide lays claim to being at the heart of Australian Aboriginal art with its annual Tarnanthi (come forth and appear) Fair including exhibitions at the Art Gallery of South Australia, other galleries across Adelaide and art fair, featuring the work from over 40 art centres across Australia.
Acknowledgement of Cultural Objects and Ancestral Spirits at Australian Museum and Blessings of Bilas Exhibition
31 May 2023 Steven Gagau, Associate Curator of Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New Guinea, Australian Museum, Sydney and President Sydney Wantok Association Inc My name is Steven Gagau. I stand …
Launch speech | Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New GuineaLaunch speech
Dr Michael Mel, Co-curator of Bilas: Body Adornment of Papua New Guinea, Australian Museum, Sydney. I am blessed to see so many of you here and so humble that you could have …
Exodus by Joel Sam
Cairns Art Gallery, 7 July –22 October 2023 Review by Margaret Cassidy One of the joys of visiting Far North Queensland is to be delighted by the works of a …
Camp Paradise by Yuki Kihara
At Powerhouse Ultimo, Australia until 31 December 2023 Reviewed by Margaret Cassidy Post-impressionist French artist Paul Gauguin’s images of the Pacific are probably the most well-known of the range of …
Pop Up Art Show: Featuring Work by Grim Jordan and Lesley Wengembo
25 & 26 February at the One + 2 Artist Studio Balmain, Mansfield Street, Rozelle, NSW. Review by Rita Uechtritz & Margaret Cassidy In many ways the work of two …
The National 4: Australian Art Now exhibition
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 31 March – 9 July 2023 Image caption: Ivi, Kato Kakala (detail), 2022–23. Installation view, The National 4: Australian Art Now, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2023. ngatu (barkcloth); single-channel …
Ömie barkcloth Exhibition Opening Speech
This speech was presented by Steven Gagau at the opening of Ömie barkcloth: Pathways of nioge Exhibition, Thursday 9 February at the Chau Chak Wing Museum Today’s launch is an exciting exhibition …
Guraban: Where the Saltwater meets the Freshwater
Hurstville Museum and Gallery – 29 October 2022 to 29 January 2023 Review by Margaret Cassidy At the OAS Adelaide Forum in November 2022 keynote speaker Djon Mundine (Bandjalung) presented …
Segar Passi, meriba ged a gur (our land and sea)
Cairns Art Gallery, 8 October-11 December 2022. Review by Margaret Cassidy This comprehensive retrospective of Torres Strait Islander artist Segar Passi was an unexpected discovery on a recent visit to the …
Carnets Kanak, Voyage en Inventaire de Roger Boulay – Musée Hèbre, Rochefort
by Pierre Laffont As a local precursor to a similar exhibition being hosted later this year in Paris at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques-Chirac, the exhibition Kanak Notebooks, Journey …
The APT10 Experience
Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) until 25 April 2022 Reviewed by Krisztina Turza APT10 Objective The highly anticipated 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) is …
Pacific Views
Photography gallery, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. Until 24 July 2022. Reviewed by Bill Rathmell and Margaret Cassidy Time flies and passes, and only our death manages to …