The islands of the Pacific Ocean encompass nearly 1,800 distinct cultures and hundreds of artistic traditions in an area that covers about one-third of the earth’s surface. The Museum’s new permanent galleries for Oceanic art, completely redesigned and reinstalled, display a substantially larger portion of the Museum’s Oceanic holdings than was previously on view. Featuring renowned masterworks from the Metropolitan’s Oceanic collection as well as recent acquisitions, the installation presents sculpture and decorative arts from the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia. The displays also feature the Museum’s first gallery devoted to the arts of the indigenous peoples of Island Southeast Asia.
