Pacific Art Niu Sila: The Pacific Dimension of Contemporary New Zealand Arts

Editors: Sean Mallon and Fuli Pereira
Publication date: 2002
NZ RRP (incl. GST): $49.99
Extent: 232 pp
Illustrations: 120+ full-colour plates and b&w images
Format: 298 x 213 mm
Binding: PB
ISBN: 978-0-909010-83-6

Out of print.

Since the 1950s, a new wave of immigrants from all over the Pacific have come to New Zealand’s shores, bringing their own cultures, customs, and values. Some of these have been maintained or transformed to suit the conditions and circumstances of a new country and community, while others have been discarded.

Today, many Pacific people maintain strong social, spiritual, and family ties to their homeland at the same time as seeking to establish and understand their new connections to this land – New Zealand; nowhere is this more explored than in the arts.

Pacific Art Niu Sila highlights some of the ways that Pacific peoples have contributed to New Zealand arts from the 1950s to the present day. This book also provides a snapshot of contemporary practice across the arts, discussing what is and has been important and relevant in different genres. It covers a range of art forms including tīvaevae, tatau, tapa, weaving, film and photography, jewellery, music, and dance.

The contributing authors engage their areas of interest in different ways: some are curators, artists, or practitioners, some are a combination of these. This book is essential reading for all those interested in the contemporary arts of both New Zealand and the Pacific.