PAA conference raises awareness of Pacific arts and culture [1]
Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - 19:08. Updated on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - 19:38.
Pacific artists and academics who study Pacific art will gather in Tonga for the Pacific Arts Association (Pacific Branch) 2015 conference, to be held at the Fa'onelua Conference Centre in Nuku'alofa, from 30 September to 3 October, 2015.
Over three days, participants from Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, USA and Germany will hear presentations on the theme ‘Trading Traditions: The Role of Art in the Pacific’s Expansive Exchange Networks.”
Dr Karen Stevenson, PAA Pacific President, stated that the theme of the conference offers a myriad of investigations into the role art has played in the exchange of objects, peoples, technologies, and ideologies in the pre-historic, historic, or modern Pacific.
“Recent archaeological investigations have confirmed what we already knew- that there was widespread trade among islands and cultures across the Pacific well in advance of the European arrival. …It is not limited to ‘physical’ exchanges, but also addresses complex social, economic and political arrangements/interactions between interconnected systems, structures and peoples.
“Among others, we seek to enhance our understanding of how art moved across time and through communities, why some exchanges were more successful than others and how geography, technology, or localized social structures influenced artistic function, meaning or traditions.”
Keynote speaker Phyllis S. Herda (Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Women’s Studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand) will speak on ‘Significant Exchange: Eighteenth Century Tongan Arts and their Legacies’.
The group will also tour Tongatapu’s archaeological sites on Saturday October 3.
Dr Stevenson said there was a special registration fee at a daily rate of $25 pa’anga for local people who would like to attend the sessions. Registration will be at Friends Café during early afternoon on Tuesday 29 September.
The Pacific Arts Association (PAA), founded in 1974 is an international organization devoted to the study of all the arts of Oceania. PAA provides a forum for dialogue and awareness about Pacific art and culture.