Number 15, December 2003

THE PACIFIC ARTS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Number 15 December 2003

7th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association Held in Christchurch
Karen Stevenson, Vice President Pacific
The 7th International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association, Repositioning Pacific Arts: Artists, Objects, Histories took place in Christchurch 23-26 June 2003. A total of 225 delegates attended comprised of artists (30), arts workers (33), academics (50), museum personnel (35), students (55), and other interested parties came from twenty-five countries around the world including twelve Pacific nations. We are grateful for the funding/sponsorship that we were able to obtain and would like to specifically acknowledge Creative New Zealand, the Pacific Business Trust. This funding enabled us to involve artists in the Symposium and support the 12 galleries in the city who held Pacific exhibitions in June. The Symposium would have been a very different entity without this support, and in particular the presence of many artists.

Key to the artist’s participation was the two Artist Forums facilitated by Anton Carter and Fatu Feu’u. This was the opportunity for the artists to debate a number of issues currently at the fore of relationships between artist, institution, writer, and consumer. These led to quite vigorous discussions, which remained topics of discussion throughout the Symposium. Artists were also involved as ‘hosts’ at the twelve Pacific exhibitions on view. Two exhibitions were curated specifically for the Symposium; these being 20/20 Sight Spacific (at CoCA) and Te Ata Ou (from the Cook Islands at Gallery O). To my knowledge artwork was purchased, and a residency, commission and exhibition have been developed from these interactions.

The keynote speakers, Brenda Croft, Adrienne Kaeppler, Ralph Regenvanu, Darcy Nicholas provided the Symposium with much food for thought addressing multiple aspects of what now constitutes Pacific Art. Each of the speakers was associated with a museum/institution but was also an artist in their own right. The organizing committee believed that this combination would spark debate between what is often perceived as different ‘camps’ within Pacific scholarship – the artist and the institution. The result, however, was the realization that we are actually all in this together and are building toward positive outcomes. The paper presentations involved 76 delegates. I, unfortunately, heard very few; but I know that they stimulated much discussion and debate.

There was an amazing energy generated at the Symposium. The interaction between scholar, artist, and student created a constant dialogue unsurpassed at any previous PAA Conference. It is very difficult to quantify a feeling of good will, positive interaction, and exciting debate; several months later people are still talking. We thank you for your participation.

A Message from the Newly Elected President of Pacific Arts Association, Carol Ivory
Those of our members who attended our 7th International Symposium in Christchurch know that it was a huge success. On behalf of PAA, we extend our deepest thanks to Karen Stevenson, convener, to Amanda Sharman and all the folks at Conference Innovators, and at the University of Canterbury for all the hard work.

Looking ahead, we have several opportunities for PAA members to meet in 2004: those in North America, at the College Art Association (NOTE: all PAA-related events are scheduled for Saturday, February 21st); those in Europe 25-28 March in Hamburg and Bremen for the PAA-E annual meeting.*

The 8th International PAA Symposium will be held 19-24 July 2005 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. PEM has been extensively remodeled, with the Polynesian collection re-installed by PAA member, Christina Hellmich. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see the superb Pacific collections. In addition, the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco will be re-opening just before our conference, with John Friede’s collection as its centerpiece. There will also be an exhibition of Marquesan art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. So please mark these dates and start to plan to come in July 2005.

*For the latest information on all of the above, please check the PAA web site, http://pacificarts.org. I welcome news from you for the web site, encourage you to communicate with me and with all of the executive committee. ivorycs@wsu.edu .

Annual Meeting of PAA-Europe 2004 in Hamburg and Bremen
Advance notice and invitation
Philippe Peltier
Dear members and friends,

The annual meeting of the Pacific Arts Association – Europe for 2004 shall take place from Thursday, 25 March to Sunday, 28 March 2004, in Hamburg and Bremen. This should give us ample opportunity to view and discuss two new South Pacific exhibitions opened in November 2003; a temporary one in Hamburg on the cultures once studied by the famous South Pacific Expedition of the Hamburg Scientific Society in 1908–1910, under the title Hamburg: Südsee. Expedition ins “Paradies” (Hamburg: The South Seas. An Expedition into “Paradise”), and the newly designed permanent South Pacific display of the Übersee Museum, Bremen, in the now completely renovated first exhibition hall.

The main venue of the annual meeting shall be the Hamburgisches Museum für Völkerkunde (Hamburg Museum of Ethnology), with accommodation arranged for in Hamburg. Antje Kelm is presently negotiating special hotel rates for participants of the meeting. Bremen shall be visited on a day trip. In December the definite invitation shall be sent giving more detailed information on the programme, accommodation etc. We shall ask you then to let us know by the end of January 2004, whether or not you are going to participate.

Tentative Programme:

THURSDAY, 25 MARCH, 2004
From 11.00 am registration at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology; individual visits to the exhibitions of the museum. There are ample opportunities to have lunch either in the museum restaurant “Mondial” or in one of the small restaurants in the nearby university quarter.
02.30 pm welcome by the museum director and official opening of the meeting
04.00 pm (to approx. 06.00 pm) visit to the exhibition “Hamburg: Südsee” guided by Antje Kelm
06.30 pm opportunity to have dinner at the “Mondial”

FRIDAY, 26 MARCH, 2004
08.40 am departure from Hamburg Dammtor Station (15 min. walk from the museum) by intercity train. Scheduled arrival at Bremen Central Station 09.43 am.
10.00 am welcome in the Übersee-Museum by the director
10.30 am (to approx. 12.30 am) visit to the new permanent South Pacific Exhibition guided by Sylvia Ohnemus and Dorothea Deterts
12.30 am opportunities to have lunch in the museum restaurant, or in other restaurants in and around the Central Station
01.30 pm (to approx. 03.30 pm) various options: - a visit to the reserve collections – individual visits to the museum exhibits – talks with members of the scientific staff of the Ethnology, Natural History, or Commercial Science departments (the exhibitions of the museum follow an inter-disciplinary design)
04.00 pm Afternoon surprise. Dieter is exploring various possibilities
06.15 pm communal dinner
09.15 pm departure from Bremen Central Station by intercity train to Hamburg. Scheduled arrival at Hamburg Dammtor Station 10.17 pm

SATURDAY, 27 MARCH, 2004
09.00 am presentation of papers
10.30 am coffee break
11.00 am General Meeting with election.
01.00 pm lunch break
02.00 pm presentation of papers
03.30 pm coffee break
04.00 pm reports, projects, announcements, comments etc.
07.30 pm communal dinner (probably at the “Mondial”)

SUNDAY, 28 MARCH, 2004
(Sight-seeing programme; one option being an harbour cruise)

Though much time shall be spent viewing and discussing the two new
exhibitions there should also be an opportunity to present a limited number
of papers. Please regard this letter also as a call for papers.
If you want to present a paper please let us know by 15 December 2003. Please address questions, or suggestions regarding the programme to the local organizing “quartet” (Dorothea Deterts, Dieter Heintze, Antje Kelm, Sylvia Ohnemus)
You may contact us any time but please, kindly consider that until the end of November 2003, only Dieter is not directly involved in preparing an exhibition.
Their addresses are:
Antje Kelm, Sportzenstieg 9, D-22359 Hamburg, e-mail: a.kelm@freenet.de
Dieter Heintze, Treseburger Strasse 29, D-29205 Bremen, e-mail: dhtz@nord-com.net
Sylvia Ohnemus and Dorothea Deterts, Übersee-Museum, Bahnhofsplatz 13, D-28195 Bremen, e-mail: s.ohnemus@uebersee-museum.de

Any suggestions concerning the General Meeting or the election should be addressed to your nearest member of the Board or to the Chairman Christian.kaufmann@bs.ch.

Museum Ethnographer's Group Conference, Cambridge
1-3 April 2004
The annual conference of the UK's Museum Ethnographer's Group (MEG) will
be held in honour of Peter Gathercole at the University of Cambridge Museum
of Archaeology and Anthropology (CUMAA), from 1st-3rd April 2004. The
conference will focus on two areas of particular relevance to Peter's work: Pacific ethnography, and politics and museums. Among his many achievements and contributions to the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, Peter was a founding member of MEG and the Pacific Arts Association, Head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and Curator of CMAA for many years. The conference thus celebrates a long and distinguished career.

The conference is scheduled for the week following the PAA-E annual meeting in
Hamburg and Bremen to encourage attendance by PAA members. Abstracts for papers, no more than 200 words in length, should be submitted by Monday 12th January to Anita Herle, Senior Curator for Anthropology, CUMAA, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, email: ach13@cam.ac.uk