The symposium ties in with the exhibition Time for Papua, opening on 12 February 2026 and closing on 7 January 2027. For the first time in forty years, the Wereldmuseum is showcasing a selection of its western New Guinea collection as well as especially commissioned work.

Visitors are invited to explore the richness, intricacy and making traditions of the art and material culture of this former Dutch colony. In addition, the public will discover concepts of time that relate to memory, place-making and imagination.

The Symposium is further part of a series of gatherings aimed at rethinking global art histories through the expansive and intellectual space of the Wereldmuseum, which challenges the structures and assumptions of both art history and anthropology through new approaches to material culture.

The title of this gathering ‘Blazing Forms’, taken from Margaret Danner’s poem The Convert, that initially applied to the blazing power of African art and material culture is here applied to Oceania to become Oceanic Blazing Forms: Memory, Place-making and Imagination.

For more information on this series, visit materialculture.nl

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The Keynote Speakers for our PAA International Symposium are Sana Balai, Deidre Brown, Brian Diettrich and Ronny Kareni.

Sana Balai is a Bougainville-born curator known for her influential work with Pacific and Indigenous art collections across Australia and the Pacific.

Deirdre Brown is a leading Māori art historian whose work explores Pacific art, architecture, and cultural heritage, highlighting Indigenous design and the transmission of cultural memory.

Brian Diettrich is an ethnomusicologist specialising in Micronesian music and dance, focusing on their role in cultural heritage and community identity.

Ronny Kareni is a West Papuan musician and researcher whose work centers on music, cultural identity, and West Papuan self-determination.