An Ocean of Connection: Oceanic art, artists and museums

Wednesday 18 June – Friday 20 June 2025

Since the 1980s, Oceanic scholars such as Wendt 1982, Hau‘ofa 1994, and Teaiwa 2014, have responded to the tendency resulting from colonialism and developmentalism, for Oceania to be divided into clearly delineated and distinct areas, by reminding Islanders and non-Islanders alike that the Pacific Ocean is a linking pathway rather than a separating boundary. They emphasised the connection to the ocean for many people living in the region; a place defined by the seascape as much as the landscape. This discourse continues to resonate and inspire scholars, curators, artists and practitioners in the region and beyond.

The main conference theme is related to the Sainsbury Centre’s exhibition season Can the Seas Survive Us? The exhibition includes Oceanic contemporary art and community responses to the issues that the Pacific region faces, particularly in Yuki Kihara’s Paradise Camp. The conference will explore the Pacific Ocean as a relational entity, as a powerful metaphor for connection, as a pathway that is reclaimed by Oceanic people today by celebrating the impressive navigational skills of their ancestors when settling the islands, as well as a pathway used by collectors who shipped artefacts to museums

For enquiries please contact the Pacific Arts Association Europe at the Sainsbury Research Unit

To register and to purchase tickets please visit PAA Europe 2025 : An Ocean of Connection: Oceanic art, artists and museums | University of East Anglia Online Store

Accommodation

UEA campus: Broadview Lodge.

Norwich City Centre: Travelodge and Premier Inn hotels; the Georgian Townhouse; apartments at No 82 or Golden Triangle Townhouse.