Melbourne Pacific
March 2013
It is strange how little knowledge many of us have in Australia of the skills, crafts and cultural intricacies of our close Pacific neighbours.
Melbourne has a relatively small population of Pacific diaspora in comparison to other cities along the coast, however, the talents of those we have are large and their voice as a community is growing.
A handful of artists from the region have formed a new initiative named The Big Island Collective. Through this they run a series of workshops helping young Pacific Islanders express themselves through creative formats such as poetry and film-making. This concentration on the current artistic efforts of individuals, to help give a picture of the Polynesian and Melanesian cultures at large, has inspired the first Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival.
Through the festival Footscray Community Arts Centre will become a hub for a conversation around how traditional practices continue to adapt and contribute to a contemporary mosaic of culture and art across Australia.
Visitors to the festival will be able to get involved in an intensive one-day workshop focussing on Pacific writing and poetry or bilium weaving workshops with master craftswoman, Vicki Kinai. Bilium literally translates to ‘womb’ and Kinai was wrapped and carried in one as a baby. The expertise needed to construct, twist and weave rope into a bilium has been passed down to her by the women of former generations.
The major exhibition is Meleponi Pasifika, meaning ‘Melbourne Pacific’, a name which sits our local community in the centre of the cultural exchange. The collection aims to remove any preconceived ideas about the range of art from the region being limited, by bringing attention to the design, painting, weaving, print-making, installations, ceramics and digital art of internationally established and local emerging artists.
Heading along to the Pacific Arts and Culture Forum and the festival’s Community Day is another way to participate in the event, as are viewing and engaging with various exhibitions, installations and open studios of multi-disciplinary artists.
This is a carefully curated program which will only get better with each year. Hopefully as it develops, a communal education of the rich artistic practices, brought over to the mainland by the contemporary counterparts of age-old civilizations, grows with it.
Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival is on at the Footscray Community Arts Centre, 45 Moreland Street, Footscray, on April 5 and 6. Workshops range from $10-$35, while all other events are free.
The festival has been supported by the Maribyrnong City Council, the Victorian Government, Arts Victoria, and Deakin University.
maribyrnong.vic.gov.au
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