The Arts of Oceania Map | Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

This dynamic animated map visually traces the early migration of the ancestors of Papuan-speaking peoples and the later migrations of Austronesian-speaking voyagers.

The astounding mobility of Oceanic peoples over millennia was a catalyst for the flourishing of a kaleidoscopic range of cultures and languages across some ten thousand islands. In this vast cosmopolitan network, spanning one third of the globe, islands are departure points as well as destinations. This dynamic animated map visually traces the early migration of the ancestors of Papuan-speaking peoples across the Sahul continental shelf and the later migrations of Austronesian-speaking voyagers across vast ocean distances. Just as vessels connect people to places, artworks also act as vessels, connecting an expansive network of communities and channeling the past into the present-future. Solwara, Moananuiākea, Te Moananui a Kiwa, Moana are Indigenous names given to this region. This animation features a visualization of the Pacific worldview by artist Sean Connelly.


Contributors

Contributors:
Maia Nuku, Evelyn A. J. Hall and John A. Friede Curator for Oceanic Art
Sylvia Cockburn, Senior Research Associate for the Arts of Oceania
Maggie Wander, former Senior Research Associate, Arts of Oceania
Geoffrey Wallace, Cartographer

Production Company: Motion Principles Studio
Spheric Oceania (2024) by Sean Connelly

Director and Managing Producer: Mandy Kritzeck
Executive Producer: Sarah Wambold
Senior Graphic Designer: Tiffany Kim
Design Manager: Alexandre Viault
Editor: Alison Tretter
Studio Manager: Erin Stella

Special Thanks to
Hannah Chen
Malvika Dang
Doris Zhao


The backs of Maia Nuku and Max Hollein as they look up at Bisj poles in the Arts of Oceania galleries
Video
Join curator Maia Nuku to celebrate the renovation and reopening of the Arts of Oceania galleries in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.
Maia Nuku
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Joanne Pillsbury and Laura Filloy Nadal standing in front of a female sculpture in the Ancient Americas galleries of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
Video
Join curators Joanne Pillsbury and Laura Filloy Nadal to celebrate the renovation and reopening of the Arts of the Ancient Americas galleries in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.
Joanne Pillsbury and Laura Filloy Nadal
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Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez looks at a weaving in the Arts of the Ancient Americas textile gallery
Audio
“For me, living and producing textiles goes along with your life, along with your age, along with your everyday activity, that's why it is a living art, it’s not a piece that's from the past.”
July 14
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