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 that institution over the last 50 years, particularly in the decisions taken that resulted in its present day collections of Pacific art. Through the actions […]
Pacific Arts Association International Symposium, March 24 – 28, Brisbane
By Pierre Laffont The XIII Pacific Art Association (“PAA”) international Symposium took place over four days on 24-28 March in Brisbane. It was organised by the Queensland Museum in partnership with all the major cultural institutions on the South Bank of Brisbane (Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Gallery/ Gallery of Modern Art (“GOMA”), State Library […]
Bridge and barrier: Torres Strait and curious artefact distributions between Queensland and New Guinea
In this talk, Ian McNiven will outline what he calls the “Coral Sea Cultural Interaction Sphere” as a framework to help shed light on why some ethnographic artefact types are shared between northern Queensland and southern New Guinea but other artefact types fail to extend across Torres Strait. Different distributions of artefact types provide new […]
Expanding the Visual Canon: Fifty years of Oceanic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1969-2019)
By Maia Nuku The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Oceanic art includes over two thousand works of art from the Pacific: ancestral treasures handed down across the generations that were created in islands and archipelagoes that extend across a vast expanse of ocean. Highlights of the collection include the landmark architectural installation or ‘Kwoma […]
Review: Oceania
by Marina Garlick Oceania is the title of the catalogue of the eponymous exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London to mark 250 years since James Cook set out on his first voyage. It also celebrates 250 years since the founding of the Royal Academy. The exhibition was organised by the Royal […]