OCEANIA

At the Intersection of Queer and Samoan Identity, Nature, Magic, and Decolonization Through Poetry—Dan Taulapapa McMullin, ‘Coconut Milk,’ 2013

August 23rd, 2020|Country: Sāmoa Amelica, USA|

While reclaiming his culture from the Tiki bars, Samoan poet and artist dwells on his fa’afafine identity, his family history within colonialism and the enchanting environment of Tutuila island

Fighting Climate Change with a Cosmos Full of Gigantic Fish—The Works of Fijian Artist Rusiate Lali

June 9th, 2020|Country: Fiji|

A reverence for the art of his ancestors and a deep love for the South Pacific Ocean make this Melanesian artist’s paintings urgent, bold and full of otherworldly serenity

The Glitz and Gravity of Australian Indigenous Drag—‘Black Divaz’, dir. Adrian Russell Wills, 2018

March 25th, 2020|Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, Biripi People, Dunghutti People, Iwaidja People, Malak Malak People, Tiwi Islands, Torres Strait Islands|

A dazzling, empathic film follows six drag queens competing in Australia's inaugural Miss First Nations contest, as they find empowerment and share vulnerabilities

Carved Bamboo Canes as Ritual Objects and a Form of Writing in Kanak Artist’s Revival of Melanesian Heritage

January 5th, 2020|Country: Kanak People, Melanesian People, New Caledonia|

Bamboo canes with intricate designs had been made by the Indigenous New Caledonians for generations. Micheline Néporon is adapting the technique to link the heritage of her ancestors to the future

There Are No Bad Kids, Just Bad Approaches to Them—‘In My Blood It Runs’, dir. Maya Newell, 2019

December 11th, 2019|Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Arrernte, Australia, Garrwa People|

A stunning documentary about a gifted unruly child decries the imperialist methods of education and punitive discipline in place in Australia. Its subject matter, however, is ubiquitous

Film: Judas Collar, dir. Alison James, 2018

November 10th, 2019|Country: Australia|

Look at the consequences of human interference with the camel populations of Australia in this powerful women-made narrative short that is currently contending for the Oscars' shorts nomination

Art: Fafetu, The Traditional Crocheted Patterns of Polynesia by Lakiloko Keakea

November 3rd, 2019|Country: New Zealand, Tuvalu|

Fierce, otherworldly pieces created by a 71-year old powerhouse of Pacific arts that raise many important questions on assessing art, gender and tradition in the post-colonial space

Art: John Pule, Hafata, 2016

September 19th, 2019|Country: New Zealand, Niue|

Leading Pacific Islander artist captures the ambiguity and the splendor of his tiny, magnificent homeland in transformative, deeply spiritual paintings

Film: Eating Up Easter, dir. Sergio Mata’u Rapu, 2018

September 18th, 2019|Country: Chile, Rapa Nui, USA|

Tiny nation in the middle of Pacific Ocean struggles with globalization and plastic pollution, in an illuminating documentary that is both a call to action and a fascinating piece of ethnography

Film: Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen, dir. Hepi Mita, 2018

August 20th, 2019|Country: Māori, New Zealand, Polynesian People|

A loving son's documentary about the legacy and life of his mother Merata Mita, who became a powerhouse of Maori filmmaking and an inspiration to indigenous creators across the world

Music: Narasirato, Inoni Ana Totoraha, 2015

July 26th, 2019|Country: Solomon Islands|

A perfect soundtrack for preventing climate change from a 17 piece panpipe orchestra who live and work near the rainforest: traditional yet modern Solomon Islands music that lights up rock festivals

Music: Huarere, Homson Tribute, 2004

July 14th, 2019|Country: Vanuatu|

Reggae from Vanuatu that’s both a testament to the genre’s power and a potent reimagining of it, drenched in Oceanian culture and realities. Archipelago dwellers sure know how to make intelligent beach music

Music: Ngaiire, Blastoma, 2016

June 11th, 2019|Country: Australia, Papua New Guinea|

Dark, danceable future soul from Papua New Guinea in a sophomore album named after the singer’s childhood cancer: Ngaiire is a talent from Oceania to look out for

Art: Tapa Cloth

April 13th, 2019|Country: Wallis and Futuna|

Spectacular cloth made from tree bark: sounds like an innovation, but it’s a century old tradition

Book: Carl Hoffman, The Last Wild Men of Borneo, 2018

January 16th, 2019|Country: Indonesia, Malaysia, Switzerland, USA|

Book: Nicholas Laughlin, So Many Islands, 2018

September 11th, 2018|Country: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Cyprus, Fiji, Grenada, Jamaica, Malta, Mauritius, Niue, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago|

Abkhazia	Congo-Brazzaville	Indonesia	New Zealand	Spain
Afghanistan	Costa Rica	Iran	Nicaragua	Sri Lanka
Albania	Côte d’Ivoire	Iraq	Niger	Sudan
Algeria	Croatia	Ireland	Nigeria	Suriname
Andorra	Cuba	Israel	Niue	Sweden
Angola	Cyprus	Italy	North Korea	Switzerland
Antigua-and-Barbuda	Czech Republic	Iwaidja People	North Ossetia	Syria
Argentina	Dagestan	Jamaica	Norway	Taiwan
Armenia	Denmark	Japan	Oman	Tajikistan
Arrernte	Dominica	Jordan	Pakistan	Tamil Nadu
Aruba	Dominican Republic	Kanak People	Palestine	Tanzania
Australia	DR Congo	Karelia	Panama	Tatarstan
Austria	Dunghutti People	Kashmir	Papua New Guinea	Thailand
Azerbaijan	Ecuador	Kazakhstan	Paraguay	Tibet
Bahamas	Eelam Tamil	Kenya	Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians	Timor-Leste
Bahrain	Egypt	Kosovo	Peru	Tiwi Islands
Balochistan	El Salvador	Kurdistan	Philippines	Togo
Bangladesh	Estonia	Kyrgyzstan	Poland	Tonga
Barbados	Eswatini	Laos	Portugal	Torres Strait Islands
Bashkortostan	Ethiopia	Latvia	Puerto Rico	Transnistria
Belarus	Faroe Islands	Lebanon	Qatar	Trinidad and Tobago
Belgium	Fiji	Liberia	Rapa Nui	Tunisia
Belize	Finland	Libya	Reunion	Turkey
Benin	France	Lithuania	Roma	Turkmenistan
Bermuda	French Guiana	Luxembourg	Romania	Tuvalu
Bhutan	Gabon	Macedonia	Russia	Uganda
Biripi People	Gambia	Madagascar	Rwanda	Ukraine
Bolivia	Garifuna Nation	Malak Malak People	Saint Kitts and Nevis	United Kingdom
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Garrwa People	Malawi	Saint Lucia	Uruguay
Botswana	Georgia	Malaysia	Saint Vincent and The Grenadines	USA
Brazil	Germany	Mali	Samoa	Uyghur Nation
Brunei	Ghana	Malta	San Marino	Uzbekistan
Bulgaria	Golan Heights	Māori	Sao Tome and Principe	Vanuatu
Burkina Faso	Greece	Martinique	Saudi Arabia	Venezuela
Burundi	Greenland	Mauritania	Scotland	Vietnam
Buryatia	Grenada	Mauritius	Senegal	Wales
Cabo Verde	Guatemala	Mexico	Serbia	Wallis and Futuna
Cambodia	Guinea	Moldova	Sierra Leone	Water
Cameroon	Guyana	Monaco	Singapore	Yemen
Canada	Haida Gwaii	Morocco	Slovakia	Yöruk People
Central African Republic	Haiti	Mozambique	Slovenia	Zambia
Chad	Ho-Chunk Nation	Myanmar	Solomon Islands	Zimbabwe
Chile	Honduras	Namibia	Somalia
China	Hong Kong	Native American Tribes	South Africa
Chinook Nation	Hungary	Nepal	South Korea
Colombia	Iceland	Netherlands	South Ossetia
Comoros	India	New Caledonia	South Sudan

OCEANIA

ALL TERRITORIES OF OCEANIA

At the Intersection of Queer and Samoan Identity, Nature, Magic, and Decolonization Through Poetry—Dan Taulapapa McMullin, ‘Coconut Milk,’ 2013

Fighting Climate Change with a Cosmos Full of Gigantic Fish—The Works of Fijian Artist Rusiate Lali

The Glitz and Gravity of Australian Indigenous Drag—‘Black Divaz’, dir. Adrian Russell Wills, 2018

Carved Bamboo Canes as Ritual Objects and a Form of Writing in Kanak Artist’s Revival of Melanesian Heritage

There Are No Bad Kids, Just Bad Approaches to Them—‘In My Blood It Runs’, dir. Maya Newell, 2019

Film: Judas Collar, dir. Alison James, 2018

Art: Fafetu, The Traditional Crocheted Patterns of Polynesia by Lakiloko Keakea

Art: John Pule, Hafata, 2016

Film: Eating Up Easter, dir. Sergio Mata’u Rapu, 2018

Film: Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen, dir. Hepi Mita, 2018

Music: Narasirato, Inoni Ana Totoraha, 2015

Music: Huarere, Homson Tribute, 2004

Music: Ngaiire, Blastoma, 2016

Art: Tapa Cloth

Book: Carl Hoffman, The Last Wild Men of Borneo, 2018

Book: Nicholas Laughlin, So Many Islands, 2018

Art: Fijian Traditional Dress

Book: G.S. Johnston, The Cast of a Hand, 2015

Book: Kirsty Sword Gusmão, A Woman of Independence, 2003

Art: Mermaid’s Doll at Wenham Museum, circa 1890

Music: Marlon Williams, Make Way for Love, 2018

Food: Alfajores and a Flat White at Southern Cross Coffee, NYC

ISSUES

POST-SOVIET TERRITORIES

CAPITALISM

FEMALE POWER

BLACK ART MATTERS

MIGRATION

POLITICS

INDIGENOUS

COLONIALISM

COMING OF AGE

DISABILITY

ALL THE WORLD'S TERRITORIES AND CULTURES WE'VE WRITTEN ABOUT