Oceania, the exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly - Pictures

The Musée du Quai Branly is devoting an exhibition to Oceania, from March 12 to July 7, 2019. More than 170 objects have been brought together for a journey across the Pacific, from New Guinea to Easter Island, from Hawaii to New Zealand!

The Musée du Quai Branly 'sOceania exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of James Cook 's first voyage to the Pacific. From March 12 to July 7, 2019, 200 objects and works from all over the world will be on display, a tiny drop compared to the production of art in the 25,000 islands ofOceania since ancient times!

The exhibition begins with a presentation of the archipelagos, featuring two magnificent pirogues essential to trade. WhileAustralia and New Zealand alone account for 70% of Oceania's population, the peoples of New Caledonia, Tahiti, Hawaii, Fiji, Guam, Papua New Guinea and even Cook Island (population 17,000) are the guardians of strong traditions and artistic identities.

The Musée du Quai Branly presents 500 years of tradition common to the archipelagos, a tradition marked by religious rites and those linked to nature. Through carefully carved centuries-old pirogues, jade ornaments, ritual figures and contemporary works, theOceania exhibition explains how tradition and ancestral memory still coexist today.

Yes, despite opening up to trade, colonization and forced evangelization, each ofOceania 's archipelagos has managed to preserve its own particularities, even if its populations nonetheless share universal questions and reflections.

The exhibition ends with an eleven-metre-high installation created by the Maori artists' collective "Kiko Moana". A powerful blue, this bark cloth made of plastic alludes to the plastic waste that is gradually destroying Oceania, a message of warning that the whole world needs to be reminded of.

We're lucky to be able to discover this Oceania exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, as it's been 35 years since an exhibition has highlighted the importance of Oceania's cultures in the world.

This exhibition really makes you want to travel and discover the cultures of the peoples of Oceania, so go for it!

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.