As Judy Watson was about the commence her residency in France, the French Government announced they would be conducting nuclear tests in the Pacific. As an Australian, an Aboriginal, a conservationist, a woman and an artist, she felt compromised. Discusses her work in this context.
Exhibition review Secret Places
Sieglinde Karl, Hazel Smith, Kate Hamilton, Ron Nagorka
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery,
Touring regional Australia through Contemporary Art Services Tasmania and the national Exhibitions Touring Scheme.
The author examines shield collected in 1995 to discuss issues fundamental to the introduction of the art of emergent societies in an international art context. Issues such as the definition of art and aesthetics, art versus craft, function of art in the various contexts etc...
Pacific Islands Theatre is at an exciting phase in New Zealand. Although relatively young compared to Maori and Pakeha theatre, the debut of key successful plays has placed it in the spotlight of New Zealand's national stage in recent years as it continues to gain strength.
Book review The Necessity of Craft: Development and Women's Craft Practice in the Asian Pacific Region
Edited by Lorna Kaino
University of Western Australia Press 1995
RRP $24.95
Brief article outlining Pacific Wave, a celebration and investigation of contemporary trends in art and cultural life of the Pacific taking place across Sydney November 2-17 1996.
Women artists were conspicuously absent from the important exhibition 'Luk Luk Gen'. The exhibition 'Pacific Dreams' included textile works by the artist Agatha Waramin who works with bilums and the exhibition 'Weaving the Old with the New' will extend women's exposure in an artistic context.
Written with Vincent Megaw. Looks at land claims and the role of artworks in these claims in the context of the exhibition 'Native Titled Now' shown as part of the Telstra Festival of Arts 1996. Good overview of indigenous art practice and talks about artists such as Raymond Arone Meeks, Lin Onus, Gordon Bennett, Alice Hinton-Bateup, Avril Quaill, Kerry Giles, Daphne Naden, Mick Namarari, Turkey Tolson, Danie Mellor, Jonathan Kumintjara Brown, Clifford Possum, Ellen Jose, Lindsay Bird Mpetyane, Heather Shearer and Kathleen Wallace.
Reflections on an exhibition in Vanuatu of old pieces of ni Vanuatu art held in European collections. Touring Exhibition 'Arts of Vanuatu' 29 June - 10 August 1996 at the National Museum of Vanuatu in the national capital of Port Vila.
Collecting Pacific Art is not a straight forward endeavour. There are really no set criteria of what 'contemporary Pacific art' might be, little interpretive literature on the subject and very few precedents for forming even small collections for cultural institutions. There is a new cultural centre 'the Jean-Marie Cultural Centre' being built in Noumea, New Caledonia.