The role of contemporary art (painting) in maintaining cultural identity and

sense of community. Case study: PNG and some thoughts about Papua

Marion Struck-Garbe

University of Hamburg, Asia-Africa-Institute, Chairperson,

Pacific Network Germany

Contemporary Art of Papua New Guinea is to some extent systematically and in an academic way recorded and described since the early seventies of the last century, even though publications and documents are scattered over the globe. Some of the artists have made their way and gained international acknowledgement as the late Mathias Kauage who was knighted for his work. Themes and motifs of the artworks are dealing with changes in society, depicting scenes of traditional and cultural events or body art and decorated dancers. Artists mostly explain that they want to capture the beauty of their traditions and people. They want to keep the history of their country in their paintings. Very recently some artists started to focus on environmental issues. Loosing one’s home and culture due to sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change, loosing the forest due to lumber by multinational companies or staying hungry because of fish shortage due to over-fishing have become their concern now.

In my presentation I will give some examples of different artworks and artists and would like to inform about the chances and challenges of contemporary art in Papua New Guinea. Thereby I will reflect upon arts role in maintaining the cultural heritage of the country. The enormous potential in the blending of traditional art forms with introduced styles and techno­logies are stated by the late Dr. Bernard Narokobi. He considered the new artists as “national treasures” because they express Papua New Guineas longing to be new, yet rooted in its rich and ancient past[1]. Thus visual art is a source of intuition, imagination and a vital resource for achieving cultural identity in a changing world.

In a next step I want to elaborate on this double if not ambivalent role of contemporary art in the context of the cultures of Papua. How can the transformation of visible and invisible tradi­tional culture into a painted culture make a contribution to preserve the diminishing cultural diversity of Papua and how can the new art add to the acknowledgement of all cultures within the country and abroad? Some art examples from Papua will illustrate this.

The protection of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Papua could benefit from promotion and support of contemporary art. At the intersection of tradition and modernity contemporary art allows a dialogue between both and provides a forum for discussions on re-interpretation of the meaning of progress. Precondition lies in the acceptance that Papuan cultures are alive, living and producing contemporary art which emanates from urban environ­ment. If made accessible to a broader public there is a possibility of generating cultural inter­action and mutual respect between the town and the village, different provinces and even out­side the country.

In a final step I want to propose some measures to integrate contemporary art in a set of actions which are identified to address the complex issues of the promotion of cultural diversity of Papua.

Recommendations for the Government of Papua

Contemporary art is used as a tool to raise awareness and to educate the public about the diversity of cultures.

Due to urbanization, migration, employment mobility and globalization Papua cultures are positioned at a crossroads leading to re-define their identities in a fast changing world. The ambivalence of contemporary art - expressing cultural historical tradition and at the same time bringing elements of modern life into the intercultural dialogue - is in line with this interactive renewal process. If cultures are considered as dynamic processes then they consist of ways and methods to integrate the new and external and transform it into something genuine new.

As the Papua New Guinea case shows this art develops with new techniques and media at the intersection point of tradition and modernity. Visual art preserves cultures by depicting the tradition and symbolizes modernity by its new approach and form of representation of culture. In its manifestations it is tangible and intangible at the same time as the art-works makes the unseen visible. As a means of communication it offers the opportunity for intercultural dialogue between the diverse cultures of Papua and highlights the process of modernity. Visual art in this way generates new levels of understanding as well as new forms of cultural expressions.

If the merits of contemporary art are considered any government is well advised to develop policies and programs to provide support to artists and arts organisations from culturally diverse backgrounds that will enable them to participate on equal terms in, for example, arts and culture funding programs to give them visibility and raise awareness of their works among audiences.

Experience elsewhere suggests initiating the following steps:

·         mapping exercise (identifying artists and artworks)

·         integrating artists into the formulation process of policies and programs

·        organizing workshops (that engage artists to discuss about art reflecting the  diversity of communities and cultures)

·         perform artistic projects which mix different cultural traditions (group of artists)

·         realize public events like a travelling exhibition displayed in public buildings

·         create intercultural space to share the diversity of cultures

·         assist individual artists or artists groups to travel to communities to share current   artistic practices

·         strengthen the marketing of artworks (jointly with local business)

·         establish art classes and a visual arts residency at the University

·           introduce art as a subject into the syllabus of schools