Built on Culture: the Art of Papua New Guinea
Celebrating 40 years of PNG Independence
Opening September, 2015
National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby, PNG

Built on Culture celebrates the breadth of cultural diversity that forms the vibrant democracy of present day Papua New Guinea.

Built on Culture will feature over 90 outstanding works of art from the museum’s extensive collection of over 80,000 objects.

The exhibition will include works from each of PNG’s 20 provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District.

This exhibition of exceptional works of art from the collections of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea marks 40 years of Independence and displays the foundations of PNG’s unique national identity.

On display will be enigmatic stone sculptures from thousands of years ago and stunning works of art made in recent years. The exhibition will include paintings and prints by Mathias Kauage, Jakupa Ako and Timothy Akis, who, at about the time of PNG’s Independence, forged a new style of art fusing traditional stories with new forms of expression.

This exhibition will bring out from the Museum’s storerooms items including stunning headdresses, masks and ceremonial objects not seen since they were worn in performances in remote villages and collected for the nation by some of the world’s renowned anthropologists.

The exhibition draws its title from the links between the establishment of the museum and the growth of the national cultural collection to the development of the nation state of PNG.

Built on Culture: the Art of Papua New Guinea brings together stunning works of art from across the length and breadth of Papua New Guinea in celebration of 40 years of National Independence.

Opening September 2015
At the National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby, PNG
The exhibition is supported by the Australian Government