Pacific Arts Specialists Gather In Port Vila
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Over 75 arts specialists from around the Pacific region and beyond today concluded a two-day symposium, which is believed to be the first of its kind in terms of museology, arts trade and conservation.
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The event was jointly organized by the Pacific Islands Museum Association (PIMA) and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, with funding from the French "Pacific Fund" (also known as the Educational, scientific and cultural fund for the Pacific).
One of the main aims of the meeting was for regional experts to take stock of their current performances in terms of exhibition and conservation of cultural items.
But one other objective was also to reflect and hare thoughts about future trends in the arts and culture sectors, in order to better preserve and revive both ancient and contemporary art forms in the Pacific.
The two-day meeting gathered specialists and officials from most
Representatives from the so-called "metropolitan" museums, the new Quai Branly Museum in Paris, the British Museum in London and the Australian Museum in Canberra, also gave presentations about how they went about, in past years, on preserving Pacific collections in their possession and possibly put a link back with the cultures and customs they are related to, in their original Pacific context.
Regional museums such as the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in
After two days of workshops and roundtables, Pacific specialists have touched on such various topics as the preservation of traditional knowledge, especially the immaterial know-hows and intellectual property, ways to better preserve objects in the museums, and the struggle against illegal arts trade.
Quai Branly Museum Director Stéphane Martin, in a keynote speech on Wednesday, told his colleagues it was his belief that from the traditionally cultured, specialized and seasoned audiences of the museums, the new public was less of a “virgin” regarding Pacific art.
"They are younger, they are coming straight out of the pop culture, typically they would have already seen
The Parisian museum head said as a result of the societal changes, and the new behavior of this new public, museums could not remain inactive.
"We have to adapt." And he did.
Last year, during the French-hosted Rugby World Cup, the
"We got 150,000 visitors during this period, and at the same time, it was a way of introducing new type of audience to Pacific cultures. Put it this way, we have tried to de-dramatize the museum and make a visit there more natural. Museums are no longer for the elites; they're for the public at large."
The British Museum's Pacific department head Lissant Bolton explained how, in the past few years, they had carried out cultural research in Vanuatu in order to restore the history of items kept in London for over a century, but had over the years lost their "soul."
Intensive research in
On Thursday, participants came up with a draft set of recommendations, including a strong focus on the sensitive issue of repatriation of cultural objects or, alternatively, a digitized version of it, for the benefit of local origin communities.
There are also moves to develop a set of guidelines that would for a "Code of Ethics" to be followed by Pacific and
