• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Member Account
Oceanic Art Society

Oceanic Art Society

Promoting the understanding and appreciation of Oceanic art.

  • About
  • Journal
    • OAS Journal | Online
    • OAS Journal | PDF
  • Membership
  • Events
  • News
    • Social Media News
  • Resources
    • Catalogue Inscriptions & Labels – 5th edition
    • Picture Survey of Inscriptions and Labels – 5th edition
    • Oceanic art – bibliography of books and exhibition catalogues
    • Oceanic art: selected bibliography by art style regions or peoples
    • Oceanic art: literature on particular types of artworks
  • Links
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Support Us

OAC Journal Cover Stories

Transformation and Understanding

12/03/2023 All Journal Articles, Cover Story, V28 Issue 1, Volume 28

Developing a greater understanding and hence appreciation of Oceanic art is surely the aspiration of all readers of this Journal. The place from which each reader and viewer commences this voyage …

Curiosity about the Pacific

26/11/2022 All Journal Articles, Cover Story, V27 Issue 4, Volume 27

Oceanic art and objects have travelled the world from the “Blue Continent”. Along the way they have been traded and stories about them have embellished their reputations and attracted new …

Personal encounters with objects

31/08/2022 Cover Story, V27 Issue 3

Creators, curators, collectors, students, visitors, audiences all have encounters with cultural objects both old and new. The new can be a celebration of the old or it can be a …

Touchstones of Culture

07/06/2022 Cover Story, V27 Issue 2

Some cultural artefacts or events become touchstones of a culture. The elaborate masks prepared for participation in the Fire Dance Ceremonies of the Central Baining in East New Britain, Papua …

Personal Encounters

04/03/2022 Cover Story, V27 Issue 1

Personal experiences and personal passions are a common theme in this edition. Everyone who attended his fascinating lecture for the Oceanic Art Society in October 2021, would be aware of …

At the intersection of ancient and contemporary

At the intersection of ancient and contemporary

28/11/2021 Cover Story, V26 Issue 4

This edition of the Journal includes articles about the early encounters between European missionaries and Aboriginal Australians in Central Australia and European anthropologists and people from the Torres Strait and …

The Agile Art World

30/08/2021 Cover Story, V26 Issue 3

Being agile and pivoting are words long associated with innovation and the tech world. However, they are now commonly being used in the art world to describe the quick responses …

Diverse Studies of Individual Oceanic Art Objects

31/05/2021 Cover Story, V26 Issue 2

Oceanic art can be studied from a number of angles. This art can be approached from an anthropological or ethnographic aspect and from the perspective of art history or visual …

New places, new ways of engaging across cultures

05/03/2021 Cover Story, V26 Issue 1

The summer of 2020-2021 has seen the opening of some significant new or renovated/expanded museums from the east to the west coast in Australia. Those of us in Sydney have …

25 years of the OAS

30/11/2020 Cover Story, V25 Issue 4

Photo Caption: The 2012 OAS Forum at the SA Museum. Photo by Michelle Haywood.  2020 is a very significant milestone in the history of the Oceanic Art Society. As is outlined …

Oceanic art market in the time of COVID

10/09/2020 Cover Story, V25 Issue 3

This edition of the Journal features Barry Craig’s account of the Pacific collection at the new Wantok Place Museum in North Adelaide as well as Jim Elmslie’s story behind the recent sales with remarkable provenance of works from the Hermannsburg school in Central Australia. We’ve introduced a new feature, the President’s Corner, where Bill Rathmell interviewed Nick Mitzevich, Director of the National Gallery of Australia, following news reports of the deaccession of Pacific pieces from the collection.

OAS responds with flexibility during COVID-19

07/06/2020 Cover Story, V25 Issue 2

The worldwide virus lockdown has hit all aspects of art and culture particularly hard. Cultural spaces and gatherings are often run on a low budget and it is hard to …

Hongi Hika: The Legacy Continues

08/03/2020 Cover Story, V25 Issue 1, Volume 25

Modern research continues to reveal secrets long held in uncatalogued documents and artefacts in rich archives. The centrepiece of this edition is the story of current research to identify which …

Curiosity Remains a Driving Force

10/12/2019 Cover Story, V24 Issue 4

Image: Mathias Kauage ‘Independence Celebration 1999’, Andrew Baker Collection. Image by Mick Richards. The desire to know – curiosity – has long been a motivating force in human endeavour. In …

PNG highlands dancer

The Story Keeps Unfolding

03/09/2019 Cover Story, V24 Issue 3, Volume 24

With so much information available in the modern digital age it sometimes feels that we know, collectively, almost everything. In this edition Professor Ian McNiven shows us that this is …

Metropolitan Museum of Art Te Maoriexhibition cover 1984

Times Are A Changing

02/06/2019 Cover Story, V24 Issue 2

In this issue of the of the OAS Journal we are fortunate to have Dr Maia Nuku, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, chart the evolution of …

Collectors and Collections: OAS Forum 2019 a Triumph

26/03/2019 Cover Story, Forums, V24 Issue 1

The 2019 Oceanic Art Society Forum was an intellectual and emotional odyssey. Oceanic art represents and encompasses many things: sublime beauty and irresistible mystery; cultural treasure; markers of colonial dispossession …

A Successful Year – President’s Report on 2018

23/12/2018 Cover Story, V23 Issue 4

The Oceanic Art Society’s Annual General Meeting was held  on  10th November at the Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff Club, Mosman NSW – a lovely venue on a sunny day. Twenty-one …

The Art of Collecting

25/08/2018 Cover Story, Featured Slider, V23 Issue 3

By Jim Elmslie Oceanic Art means different things to different people. Made by indigenous peoples for traditional cultural and utilitarian practice, artefacts are now prized by many people far removed …

Different Ways of Seeing

11/06/2018 Cover Story, V23 Issue 2

by Jim Elmslie Oceanic art creates fascination on many levels. In this edition of the OAS Journal we look at two quite different ways of seeing traditional artefacts. To Dr. …

Art of the Prince Alexander Ranges at the NGA

05/03/2018 Cover Story, Galleries, V23 Issue 1, Volume 23

by Crispin Howarth The Prince Alexander Ranges in northern Papua New Guinea are home to a number of cultures. The largest group are the Abelam with a population of some …

The Savage Club OAS Forum a Stunning Success

13/11/2017 Cover Story, V22 Issue 5

The OAS Forum, held at the Melbourne Savage Club on October 21st, was a fantastic success and the Victorian members of the OAS, especially Dr. Michael Martin, are to be …

Fijian Gods, The Fair and The Forum

08/09/2017 Cover Story, V22 Issue 4

After a very successful Tribal Art Fair Sydney, eyes, minds and tastebuds are turning eagerly toward Melbourne. This year’s OAS Forum is to be held at the iconic Savage Club, …

Author Professor Peter McCabe, OAS Journal Editor Dr. Jim Elmslie, and author Dr. Barry Craig discuss matters Oceanic at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Oceanic Encounters Through Time and Space

12/07/2017 Cover Story, V22 Issue 3

This edition of the OAS Journal once again traverses through time and space exploring aspects of Pacific cultures, from the first contact made by Captain James Cook in Hawaii to …

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Next

Join the Oceanic Art Society

Provide your support and become a member for access to premium content, event discounts and other benefits.

Become a Member
OAS Newsletters

Get the latest news, events and announcements straight to your inbox.

Subscribe
Latest Journal Stories

Transformation and Understanding

Tools of Intervention: Re-examining German and Papua New Guinean Art and Histories

The Evolution of the Contemporary Aboriginal Art Market

Ömie barkcloth Exhibition Opening Speech

Latest Journal Issues

V27 Issue 1

V27 Issue 2

V27 Issue 3

V27 Issue 4

Site Map
  • OAS Journal – PDF
  • OAS Journal – Stories
  • OAS News
  • Social Media News
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Publications
  • Links
  • Donations
  • Membership
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
Postal Address

Secretary OAS
PO Box 3287,
Wareemba NSW 
Australia 2046

[email protected]


  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 | Oceanic Art Society Inc | All Rights Reserved