Fiji's artistic heritage: impact and engagement in Fiji
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Sainsbury Research Unit
Abstract
This project will convert the results of the AHRC-funded Fijian Art research project (2011-14) into significant impacts in Fiji, securing a long-term legacy for the activities of the original project in the country of origin and reaching new audiences. Existing relationships with Fiji Museum and the Fiji High Commission to the UK will be activated alongside new relationships with the iTaukei Trust Fund Board in Suva (which is developing a museum/cultural centre), the UK High Commission in Fiji and other Fiji-based organisations to ensure there is substantial benefit to the cultural and economic sectors in Fiji.
The work of impact generation will take place in two phases. The first (Oct 2016 - Feb 2017) will take advantage of the summative project exhibition, 'Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific', which will be shown at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia during that period. This will be the most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to Fiji, displaying important historic material from major collections, including those in Cambridge, Oxford, Aberdeen and the British Museum, as well as Fiji Museum. A major theme of the exhibition is the creative adaptability of Fijians over the last two centuries in the context of major political, religious and economic influences and disturbances. The exhibition will accordingly show major contemporary works, including a 26ft-long newly built double-hulled canoe (drua), which recently featured in the Queen's 90th birthday pageant at Windsor, and a large (15ft x 6ft) painted barkcloth, showing continuity of cultural practice.
Four curators and four artists from Fiji, identified as a result of the original project, will be invited for residencies in Norwich, to participate in workshops and knowledge exchange sessions around the exhibition, its content and themes. This will work both ways. Fijians will see the finest material in the UK and receive training in international-standard museum practice. They will reciprocate by engaging with the Sainsbury Centre Education team, providing Fijian perspectives on collections and exhibitions. The canoe, an unexpected outcome of the original project, will be a vehicle, practical and metaphorical, for illuminating issues connected to the use of sustainable resources (it is made entirely of wood and coir cordage), climate and sea-level changes and heritage management. The Fijian guests will also visit Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford to see the Fijian collections there, to establish mutual collaborative relations and to derive inspiration for new artworks in a range of media.
The second phase of the Highlight Notice project mostly takes place in Fiji (Mar-Sep 2017). Here the four curators and four artists will convert their experiences in the UK into practical outcomes - training and inspiring colleagues and the broader Fijian community in the process. Fiji Museum colleagues will feed their experiences into their current strategic development planning, leading to enhanced displays, storage facilities and educational programmes. In addition, Fiji Museum will mount an exhibition in August 2017 of new work by the artists who visited the UK, coinciding with the week-long Hibiscus Festival that brings tens of thousands of people to central Suva. Fiji Museum staff will also conduct workshops focusing on craft skills and schools' engagement with heritage issues. The iTaukei Trust Fund Board will host workshops and develop a network of local fieldworkers to document cultural knowledge, especially in the area of women's arts, achieving impacts in remote areas of the country. They will also transfer their UK experiences into the development of their new museum building and facilities. Foundations will be laid for a commercial canoe-building initiative, to be discussed with the Fiji Government as part of rural development policy, discouraging urban drift.
The work of impact generation will take place in two phases. The first (Oct 2016 - Feb 2017) will take advantage of the summative project exhibition, 'Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific', which will be shown at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia during that period. This will be the most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to Fiji, displaying important historic material from major collections, including those in Cambridge, Oxford, Aberdeen and the British Museum, as well as Fiji Museum. A major theme of the exhibition is the creative adaptability of Fijians over the last two centuries in the context of major political, religious and economic influences and disturbances. The exhibition will accordingly show major contemporary works, including a 26ft-long newly built double-hulled canoe (drua), which recently featured in the Queen's 90th birthday pageant at Windsor, and a large (15ft x 6ft) painted barkcloth, showing continuity of cultural practice.
Four curators and four artists from Fiji, identified as a result of the original project, will be invited for residencies in Norwich, to participate in workshops and knowledge exchange sessions around the exhibition, its content and themes. This will work both ways. Fijians will see the finest material in the UK and receive training in international-standard museum practice. They will reciprocate by engaging with the Sainsbury Centre Education team, providing Fijian perspectives on collections and exhibitions. The canoe, an unexpected outcome of the original project, will be a vehicle, practical and metaphorical, for illuminating issues connected to the use of sustainable resources (it is made entirely of wood and coir cordage), climate and sea-level changes and heritage management. The Fijian guests will also visit Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford to see the Fijian collections there, to establish mutual collaborative relations and to derive inspiration for new artworks in a range of media.
The second phase of the Highlight Notice project mostly takes place in Fiji (Mar-Sep 2017). Here the four curators and four artists will convert their experiences in the UK into practical outcomes - training and inspiring colleagues and the broader Fijian community in the process. Fiji Museum colleagues will feed their experiences into their current strategic development planning, leading to enhanced displays, storage facilities and educational programmes. In addition, Fiji Museum will mount an exhibition in August 2017 of new work by the artists who visited the UK, coinciding with the week-long Hibiscus Festival that brings tens of thousands of people to central Suva. Fiji Museum staff will also conduct workshops focusing on craft skills and schools' engagement with heritage issues. The iTaukei Trust Fund Board will host workshops and develop a network of local fieldworkers to document cultural knowledge, especially in the area of women's arts, achieving impacts in remote areas of the country. They will also transfer their UK experiences into the development of their new museum building and facilities. Foundations will be laid for a commercial canoe-building initiative, to be discussed with the Fiji Government as part of rural development policy, discouraging urban drift.
Planned Impact
The principal focus will be on generating impact from the research previously undertaken on Fijian collections and Fijian history (largely in UK museums), and utilising the non-academic networks developed during that project. There will also be substantial engagement with new non-academic audiences and community groups, leading to impact in terms of policy-making in the cultural sector, heritage awareness and the establishment of active professional networks both within and beyond Fiji. Ensuring a legacy beyond the period of the Follow-on-Funding project is also a priority.
The pathways via which the project will achieve impact and engagement include the following:
Engaging four staff from Fiji Museum and the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) in activities centred on the major exhibition 'Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific' at the Sainsbury Centre at UEA. This will take the form of a series of workshops and sessions in February 2017 at UEA, Cambridge and Oxford, at which staff will experience and reflect on the exhibition, see first-hand a wide range of high-quality Fijian artworks, engage in knowledge exchange about them with UK-based curators and educationalists, and receive information on the latest international-standard museum practices in terms of storage, conservation, public programmes, loans and display. This will provide a permanent legacy in terms of enabling Fijian staff to translate their experiences into policy planning and public activities in their own institutions in Fiji. Likewise, a group of four Fijian artists will also undertake residencies in Norwich, Cambridge and Oxford in November 2016, during which they will engage with the exhibition and its content, participate in workshops and make new work in response to their experiences. Staff at the Sainsbury Centre, and museums in Cambridge and Oxford (project partners in the original project, who wish to follow through) are willing to participate in these visits, gaining insights into their own display practices and collections through knowledge exchange.
In Fiji, the returning participants will themselves conduct workshops and events to disseminate information gained in the UK, including showing dossiers of photographs taken both during the original project and during their recent visit. These will focus on technical aspects, aimed at recovering lost or diminishing skills and encouraging pride in heritage and traditional knowledge. Workshops will take place in Suva, rural areas and outer islands, to allow maximum spread of information and reach specialist craftspeople in their own, often remote, villages. The TTFB will establish a network of local fieldworkers (on a model successfully operated in Vanuatu) as part of their own formal institutional activities.
PI Steven Hooper has had positive meetings with government officials and the Minister of Education (with the Fiji Museum Director in 2015). These will be built upon to facilitate policy discussions concerning heritage issues, in particular regarding an enhanced role for Fiji Museum as the national museum of Fiji and in regard to commercial opportunities for canoe production and sale to tourist hotels (tourism is by far the biggest industry in Fiji). In a recent conversation the Fiji High Commissioner to the UK was enthusiastic about this initiative, building on the celebrity of the recently built sailing canoe which was an unplanned outcome of the original project (see Visual Evidence).
The aim is to achieve enduring cultural and economic impact at the highest policy level, primarily through the Ministry of Education, and also at the village and broader community level through the outreach activities of Fiji Museum, the TTFB and other local NGOs such as NatureFiji (see support letter). Impact and engagement will be measured by documenting workshop and exhibition attendance, by production of manuals and planning documents, by feedback forms, commercial activity and media coverage.
The pathways via which the project will achieve impact and engagement include the following:
Engaging four staff from Fiji Museum and the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) in activities centred on the major exhibition 'Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific' at the Sainsbury Centre at UEA. This will take the form of a series of workshops and sessions in February 2017 at UEA, Cambridge and Oxford, at which staff will experience and reflect on the exhibition, see first-hand a wide range of high-quality Fijian artworks, engage in knowledge exchange about them with UK-based curators and educationalists, and receive information on the latest international-standard museum practices in terms of storage, conservation, public programmes, loans and display. This will provide a permanent legacy in terms of enabling Fijian staff to translate their experiences into policy planning and public activities in their own institutions in Fiji. Likewise, a group of four Fijian artists will also undertake residencies in Norwich, Cambridge and Oxford in November 2016, during which they will engage with the exhibition and its content, participate in workshops and make new work in response to their experiences. Staff at the Sainsbury Centre, and museums in Cambridge and Oxford (project partners in the original project, who wish to follow through) are willing to participate in these visits, gaining insights into their own display practices and collections through knowledge exchange.
In Fiji, the returning participants will themselves conduct workshops and events to disseminate information gained in the UK, including showing dossiers of photographs taken both during the original project and during their recent visit. These will focus on technical aspects, aimed at recovering lost or diminishing skills and encouraging pride in heritage and traditional knowledge. Workshops will take place in Suva, rural areas and outer islands, to allow maximum spread of information and reach specialist craftspeople in their own, often remote, villages. The TTFB will establish a network of local fieldworkers (on a model successfully operated in Vanuatu) as part of their own formal institutional activities.
PI Steven Hooper has had positive meetings with government officials and the Minister of Education (with the Fiji Museum Director in 2015). These will be built upon to facilitate policy discussions concerning heritage issues, in particular regarding an enhanced role for Fiji Museum as the national museum of Fiji and in regard to commercial opportunities for canoe production and sale to tourist hotels (tourism is by far the biggest industry in Fiji). In a recent conversation the Fiji High Commissioner to the UK was enthusiastic about this initiative, building on the celebrity of the recently built sailing canoe which was an unplanned outcome of the original project (see Visual Evidence).
The aim is to achieve enduring cultural and economic impact at the highest policy level, primarily through the Ministry of Education, and also at the village and broader community level through the outreach activities of Fiji Museum, the TTFB and other local NGOs such as NatureFiji (see support letter). Impact and engagement will be measured by documenting workshop and exhibition attendance, by production of manuals and planning documents, by feedback forms, commercial activity and media coverage.
Organisations
- University of East Anglia (Lead Research Organisation)
- National Maritime Museum (Collaboration)
- Fiji National University (FNU) (Collaboration)
- Veiqia Project (Collaboration)
- Government of Fiji (Collaboration)
- The Royal Collection Trust (Collaboration)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Collaboration)
- Horniman Museum and Gardens (Collaboration)
- Mundy Cruising (Collaboration)
- iTaukei Trust Fund Board (Collaboration)
- Tourism Fiji (Collaboration)
Publications
Jacobs K
(2021)
Mobile Museums: Collections in circulation
Karen Jacobs
(2022)
'Engagement And Impact': The Challenges Of Translating Fiji's Cultural Heritage
Steven Hooper
(2019)
Fijian Histories: Chiefs, Valuables and Exchange
in Tribal Art
Steven Hooper
(2020)
Visit Fiji in Los Angeles
| Title | Exhibition 'Kamunaga: the story of tabua' |
| Description | The collaboration between project staff and Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board resulted in the successful exhibition Kamunaga: the story of Tabua (Fiji Museum, Suva, June 2017-February 2018). Jacobs and Igglesden acted as advisors, but it was the local staff who decided on the topic, developed the exhibition theme, organised installation, display, labels and press coverage and the success of their Kamunaga exhibition is solid evidence of their increased professional skills in presenting their collections to their audiences, Fijian and visitors. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The success of the Kamunaga exhibition is solid evidence of their increased professional skills in presenting their collections to their audiences, Fijian and visitors. The Fiji Museum exhibitions received wide media coverage, increased visitor numbers and were considered locally as educational tools. The exhibition was opened by the President of Fiji, who in his opening speech stated that the exhibition 'will serve as a classroom on its important subject encouraging students and young people to be critical thinkers. the museum has been neglected over the past decade and he has appealed to shareholders to invest in the upgrading of the museum' (Fiji Village, 'President opens Kamunaga exhibition called The Story of the Tabua', 16/6/2017). |
| Title | Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific (2019) |
| Description | A second venue for the major exhibition of the same name, shown at the Sainsbury Centre at UEA in 2016-17 (see separate entry). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the largest museum in the USA west of the Mississippi, having seen the exhibition at UEA, agreed to show it in LA. Some UK loans were dropped and US loans were added, including important works from the Smithsonian Institution, but the exhibition and its zones are essentially the same. The exhibition opened on 15 December 2019 and will close on 19 July 2020. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Many thousands of visitors, for many of whom this is unfamiliar material Opened by the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Honourable Frank Bainimarama Further sales of exhibition catalogue (itemised separately) Sponsorship of $500,000 USD provided by Fiji Water company and sponsorship of freight for Fiji Museum loans provided by Fiji Airways, in addition to free tickets for 4 Fiji participants at the opening Discussions between project members and the owners of Fiji Water, who have been persuaded to sponsor the total multi-million dollar renovation of Fiji's national museum. Discussions are proceeding well. Watch this space A member of the iTaukei Trust Fund Board, Unaisi Manulevu (partners in the ODA follow-on funding project) acted as courier for Fiji Museum loans, further evidence of collaborations between the two Fiji-based organisations |
| URL | https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/fiji-art-life-pacific |
| Title | Fijian 10m-long double-hulled canoe (drua) for Berlin Museum |
| Description | A 10m-long double-hulled canoe is reaching completion in Fiji, for eventual display in the new building of the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin - opening later this year or early 2020. Negotiations for its construction were facilitated by Hooper, and it is being fully built in Fiji but shipped in parts to Berlin in May 2019 (they do not have a big enough access door) and Fijian builders will go over to Berlin to assemble the canoe inside the gallery. This is all being paid for by the Berlin Museum. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | This has had economic and skills training impacts in Fiji, and in due course will have impacts in Berlin when the museum opens. The economic and partnership aspects have been reported under Collaborations |
| URL | https://www.humboldtforum.com/en/stories/a-drua-from-the-south-pacific |
| Title | Fijian 8m-long double-hulled sailing canoe for LACMA |
| Description | An 8m-long Fijian double-hulled sailing canoe is being built in Fiji for the upcoming exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific" (15 December 2019 - 14 June 2020). It is partly constructed and will be shipped to LA in August 2019. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Economic and skills training impacts for the builders and their apprentices in Fiji. |
| Title | Power & Prestige: the Art of Clubs in Oceania |
| Description | Steven Hooper curated this exhibition, which was shown at Palazzo Franchetti, Venice, from 15 October 2021 to 13 March 2022. The exhibition was sponsored by the Giancarlo Ligabue Foundation, based in Venice. The conversation that led to the realisation of this exhibition took place at the awards ceremony for Hooper's book 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' in Paris in December 2017. The exhibition included 126 clubs/sculptures from Oceania, including 21 from Fiji, the most from any island group represented. They were borrowed from the British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac and other museums. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The thrust of the exhibition, and its accompanying book/catalogue, was that 'clubs' are not only weapons, but remarkable sculptures, authority symbols, god images, performance accessories and other things besides. The aim was to challenge conventional and limited views about 'savage weapons'. Thirteen members of the London Maori Club were invited to inaugurate the exhibition. As this was the first exhibition ever devoted to this subject, during its development it attracted the attention of curators and the President of the Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris - the French national museum. They will show the exhibition in Paris from 8 June to 25 September 2022, |
| URL | https://www.live-venice.it/en/from-oceania-to-venice-an-extraordinary-exhibition-of-power-batons/ |
| Description | This is not a research grant, but one aimed at impact. We have successfully hosted Fijian visitors in the UK and worked with them on the planned outputs, including an exhibition in Fiji, the development of a fieldworkers' network in Fiji and several publications. [2018] The activity of the project has enhanced collaborative relations between project members and the Fiji Government, as outlined in the various reports, and been a catalyst to assist collaboration between Fiji Museum and the iTaukei Trust Fund Board in Fiji. [March 2020] The partnership with Fiji Museum has been activated by them being a major lender to the Fiji exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The TTFB also supplied a courier and installer for the Fiji Museum loans. An additional 8m-long double-hulled canoe was commissioned and built for the exhibition, and is now on display there. [2021] Jacobs and Igglesden have been recruited to Fiji Museum's Peer Review Panel and both are involved with partners in Fiji, including Fiji Museum, in a British Academy-funded Youth Futures Project, focusing on youth and culture in Fiji. Jacobs is PI and Igglesden in post-doc RA. This important project has only been possible because of the original AHRC Follow-on-Funding project of 2016-2017. |
| Exploitation Route | Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board are both planning developments directly connected to project work and advice. The project and these two organisations had stands at the recent (Feb 2018) Commonwealth Education Minister's conference in Fiji. A British Academy application is in process for a project focusing on Fijian youth and culture [2021] This BA application was successful and the project has begun, though temporarily restricted by the pandemic. It involves Fiji-based partners Fiji Museum, University of the South Pacific and Vou dance group. This initiative is a direct result of the original project we are reporting on. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Creative Economy Education Environment Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Retail Transport |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/fijianartproject |
| Description | Public programmes in Fiji were well attended. Others to follow. [2018] the presence of Igglesden and Hooper in Fiji on project business led to the Fiji Government's invitation for us to be Cultural Advisers for Fiji's Presidency of COP23 in Bonn in November 2017. This initiative, reported at various places in the researchfish submission, would not have occurred without the project's existence. Our findings and those of our partners have been used successfully in the Kamunaga exhibition, which is still open (March 2018) and which was co-curated by staff from Fiji Museum and the iTaukei Trust Fund Board staff as a direct result of their involvement in this project. This is a highly productive and ongoing collaboration. Two new Fijian sailing canoes are currently under construction as a result of discussions and negotiations as part of this award, bringing considerable economic and skills training benefits to Fiji - reported in the appropriate sections. March 2020. These two canoes have been completed, and one is on display at LACMA [2021] Project members have continued to collaborate with Fiji Museum staff. Igglesden is part of an application to a US funder for a documentation project at Fiji Museum. Hooper and Igglesden, with Fiji Museum Director and the Chair of Fiji Museum Board, have submitted (August 2020) an invited proposal to Fiji Water (California-based company) to fund a $25000000 (USD twenty-five million) project for the total redevelopment of Fiji's national museum. The pandemic has delayed any planning for this initiative, about which we are optimistic. [2022] The application by Igglesden and Fiji Museum Director Sipiriano Nemani for funding to undertake a comprehensive digital documentation project on Fiji Museum's holding's was approved and US$202,258 was awarded in November 2021. The 4.5-year project will begin June 2022, with Igglesden managing it. This application and funding is a direct result of the collaborative work undertaken by the UEA team and Fiji Museum staff, including the major Fiji exhibition, to which Fiji Museum was an important lender. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | British Academy Youth Futures Programme. (Re)Defining Culture: Engaging urban Fijian youth in sustainable employment opportunities in the cultural heritage sector [Jacobs PI; Igglesden RA] |
| Amount | £296,853 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | YF\190078 |
| Organisation | The British Academy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 07/2022 |
| Description | British Council's Active Citizen's programme in collaboration with iTaukei Trust Fund Board Fiji |
| Amount | £5,000 (FJD) |
| Organisation | British Council for Offices |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 11/2017 |
| Description | UEA Impact Case Study Award |
| Amount | £9,734 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of East Anglia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | Advising on redisplay of Royal collections from the Commonwealth at Windsor Castle |
| Organisation | The Royal Collection Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The research team was visited at UEA on 23 November 2016 by four curatorial and collections staff from the Royal Collections at Windsor Castle, to see the Fiji exhibition and discuss strategies for the re-display of their collections at Windsor Castle, and how to animate their displays for multiple audiences. Subsequent to this, Hooper advised on the Fiji content of the Summer 2017 exhibition at Buckingham Palace, 'Royal Gifts', and has attended consultancy meetings in London and Windsor concerning the major re-display of the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle (planned for 2018-19), advising on the exhibition of not only Fijian but other Pacific material and helping them update their database of Pacific material in the Royal Collection. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Royal Collection has significant collections from the Commonwealth, about which we are able to provide expert advice based on our Fijian Art project experience. They (prompted by Her Majesty The Queen) wish to give these collections greater prominence. |
| Impact | Updating of Royal Collection Trust records of Pacific and North American objects |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Building of traditional Fijian canoe, Ro Lida, for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's showing of the exhibition 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific'. |
| Organisation | Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Hooper facilitated the commissioning of the building of a new 8m-long double-hulled sailing canoe for LACMA's Fiji exhibition. The original canoe is now installed in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, so this replacement was commissioned by LACMA with sponsorship funding from Fiji Water. Hooper liaised with the original builders and arranged for two of them to travel to LA to install the canoe for the exhibition and give public talks at the exhibition opening in December 2019. This commission has further enhanced and promoted the preservation of heritage skills in Fiji. |
| Collaborator Contribution | LACMA arranged for the container shipping of the canoe from Fiji to LA, and for its installation in the exhibition, as well as for financial sponsorship by Fiji Water, a California-based company. The canoe features in their on-line publicity. Because of Covid the LACMA exhibition has been extended until 2 May 2021. |
| Impact | A beautiful traditional Fijian canoe has been created, the third in a sequence, that has made a substantial contribution to the preservation and enhancement of traditional canoe-building skills in Fiji, that were in decline. It is likely that this canoe will be donated by Fiji Water and LACMA to another museum in North America or the UK. Discussions are underway. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Cultural Advisorships for COP23, Bonn |
| Organisation | Government of Fiji |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Hooper and Igglesden were approached in Fiji in April 2017 during a visit funded by the AHRC follow-on-funding project, to be Cultural Advisors to the COP23 Presidency Secretariat of Fiji - specifically to help deliver a Fijian cultural presence at COP23 in Bonn, which connected to the Climate Change themes of that conference. Hooper acted in an advisory capacity, with a fee being paid to the Sainsbury Research Unit at UEA of 15,000 euros for his services and for providing an institutional base for Igglesden, who was employed for 7 months and played a major role in planning and delivering the Fiji Pavilion and other cultural aspects of Fiji's presidency of the 2-week meeting. Hooper mainly assisted with organising the loan, transport and display in Bonn of the Fiji double-hulled canoe, which now belongs to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The canoe became an icon of the meeting, being an example of sustainable carbon-free transport, and was mentioned frequently in high-level speeches and communiques: "We are all in the same canoe" with respect to climate change. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Fiji COP23 Presidency Secretariat paid Igglesden a salary and expenses (funded ultimately by the German Government), and facilitated her work and that of Hooper with the various authorities in Bonn (UNFCCC, City of Bonn, construction companies, etc.). |
| Impact | A great deal of media exposure has resulted, especially because of visits of California Governor Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Fiji Pavilion. In more concrete terms this initiative has led to collaborations with the London Commonwealth Secretariat and to Igglesden being invited to set up a stand and showcase the project (specifically the relationship created between the UK and Fiji during this project) at the February 2018 Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Fiji (reported elsewhere). |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Exhibition - Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific: major venue at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) confirmed |
| Organisation | Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | This exhibition was opened in LA by the Prime Minister of Fiji on 15 December 2015 (March 2020 addition) This exhibition, reported as at discussion stage last year, has now been confirmed to show at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 15 December 2019 to 14 June 2020. Professor Hooper and colleagues have been providing curatorial services, advising on loans and content. New loans, including from the Smithsonian Institution and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, have been agreed. Professor Hooper and Nancy Thomas, Senior Deputy Director at LACMA, met in Fiji in June 2018 to discuss the exhibition with the Fiji Museum Director and other colleagues in Fiji (Fiji Museum is an original project partner and a major lender; their loans will be increased to 37 from the 26 pieces loaned to the original exhibition in Norwich). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The sponsorship of $600,000 USD was given by Fiji Water, as well as Fiji-LA freight and air tickets for participants from Fiji Museum (March 2020 addition) LACMA have allocated a budget of $600,000 US for this exhibition and are taking on responsibility for installation and presentation. They are a major museum, the largest west of the Mississippi on the American continent (as they like to say!). They have also found sponsorship to commission the building of another Fijian double-hulled sailing canoe, which is now half completed. They are paying the Fijian builders $68,500 FJ, plus will pay for the container shipping of the canoe to Los Angeles and for 3 Fijians to travel to Fiji to set up the canoe and participate in the exhibition opening in December 2019. |
| Impact | Hooper, Jacobs and Igglesden gave opening tours and hosted the Fiji Prime Minister (helping to compose his opening speech). A full report will be provided next year (March 2020 addition) Preparations are underway (design, loan agreements, etc) for the exhibition which opens on 15 December 2019. The Fijian double-hulled canoe is now half built and will be shipped to LA in August 2019. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Exhibition planning with Fiji Museum and Taukei Trust Fund Board staff |
| Organisation | Government of Fiji |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Advice in the UK (February 2017) and in Fiji (March-April 2017) on developing and mounting the exhibition 'Kamunaga: a tabua of purpose' at Fiji Museum, due to be shown June-August 2017. Update March 2019: The Kamunaga exhibition is still on display at Fiji Museum and was visited in January 2019 by Jenny Morrison, wife of the Australian Prime Minister, during a state visit to Fiji. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Developing ideas for the exhibition and carrying out preliminary research; designing and planning the exhibition, its installation and all its associated programmes and publicity; fund-raising |
| Impact | Not yet. The exhibition opens in June 2017 Update March 2019: Thousands of visitors to the exhibition over more than 18 months |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Exhibition. 'A Retrospective Look at Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' |
| Organisation | Government of Fiji |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | During time in Fiji, Igglesden suggested to Director of the Fiji Museum that they had the opportune occasion to create a small exhibition about the 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' exhibition in the UK (15-October 2016 - 12 October 2017) to which the Fiji Museum was the 2nd largest museum lender. This was the first time that Fiji Museum had ever loaned objects to an international exhibition, so this proposed exhibition would be a celebration of that. As a result, Igglesden and Fiji Museum staff co-curated an exhibition which showed roughly 50 high res professional images of the UK exhibition - and all associated major events that took place during it, such as the visit of Fiji's president and HM The Queen - as well as displayed in the gallery space some of the Fiji Museum objects that went to the UK. The exhibition opened on 12 April 2017. Igglesden and project members provided photos, all text and curatorial guidance. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fiji Museum provided all of the man power (it was a large job to clear out the previous exhibition), as well as curatorial and collections support. The museum also funded the entire exhibition as well as the opening reception - which was paired with the Tokani (Friends of the Fiji Museum) Event at which Hooper and Igglesden presented a talk. Because of it's popularity, the exhibition is still open and museum staff maintain its upkeep. |
| Impact | This exhibition was a feature of Fiji Museum's May 2017 'Open Day'. These open days are used as a means to bring Fiji's cultural heritage to a wider and more diverse audience. Free of charge to attend (museum admission fees apply for regular entry), the exhibition was a huge draw to visitors, especially locals, who took pride in seeing their cultural heritage displayed internationally. Tours by primary and secondary schools are also done of the exhibition. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Fiji Museum staff training |
| Organisation | Government of Fiji |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We hosted 4 members of Fiji Museum staff, who visited the UK in February 2017 to participate in workshops and visits to museums in Cambridge, Oxford and London to study collections, facilities, education and marketing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | On their return to Fiji they are preparing an exhibition at Fiji Museum based on their experiences in the UK and in partnership with colleagues from the Taukei Trust Fund Board in Fiji. They are also initiating a fieldworkers programme in Fiji. |
| Impact | Workshops in the UK and Fiji |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Igglesden Horniman Museum assistance with displays |
| Organisation | Horniman Museum and Gardens |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Igglesden assisted curator Dr Sarah Byrne with the final object selection and textual content for Fijian material displayed in the Horniman Museum & Gardens' new World Gallery in June 2018 |
| Collaborator Contribution | Horniman Museum renovated their anthropology displays in their new World Gallery |
| Impact | Improved visitor experience |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Katrina Igglesden appointed Cultural Community Consultant for LACMA Fiji exhibition |
| Organisation | Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | September - December 2019: Employed by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as the Cultural and Community Consultant for the 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' exhibition |
| Collaborator Contribution | LACMA supplied curatorial and public engagement staff and staff time to plan events around the opening of the Fiji exhibition and a programme of events during he exhibition run. |
| Impact | Organisation of arrangements for Fiji delegation to come to attend the opening, and for local First nations members to participate in the opening events |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich: installation of Adi Yeta, a Fijian double-hulled canoe in the new NMM permanent Pacific Encounters Gallery |
| Organisation | National Maritime Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Advice and oversight of the installation of the 8m-long Fijian canoe in the new Pacific Encounters Gallery at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, which opened on 19 September 2018. Professor Hooper also advised on some other aspects of the display (the name of the gallery was taken explicitly from Hooper's 2006 exhibition, acific Encounters. which was the result of a previous AHRB/AHRC-funded project 'Polynesian Visual Arts'. |
| Collaborator Contribution | NMM paid an unknown sum to install the canoe and supplied curatorial and technical assistance to do so. |
| Impact | Large public viewing, a blessing of the canoe in the presence of the Fiji High Commissioner to the UK and Sir David Attenborough's opening speech which mentioned the drua several times. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Participating in workshops and exhibition installation with members of the Veiqia [Tattooing] Project |
| Organisation | Veiqia Project |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Since 2015 project members have been in communication with Fijian members of the Veiqia [Tattooing] Project, including during the Pacific Arts Association international symposium in Auckland in March 2016. Fiji project and Veiqia members also met during the opening of the Fiji exhibition and the Pacific Arts Association-Europe conference at UEA in October 2016. They recently met up again in Fiji during a workshop and the opening of the Tattooing exhibition at Fiji Museum. Project team members contributed research information to the Veiqia project team. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Veiqia project have investigated and revived female tattooing in Fiji, have made several presentations, including at the Pacific Arts Association-Europe conference hosted by Fiji project members. They are also contributing to the new energetic activities of Fiji Museum as part of the Fiji Follow-on Funding project. |
| Impact | The Veiqia Exhibition at Fiji Museum (9 March-May 2017) Veiqia Project Family Day, Fiji Museum, 11 March 2017 Coverage in Fiji Press |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Paul Gauguin Cruise lectures |
| Organisation | Mundy Cruising |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | As a result of Mundy Cruises sponsoring the exhibition in Norwich, Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific, they required Hooper to be guest lecturer on a cruise between Fiji and Tahiti in June/July 2017. Hooper delivered 3 lectures on: Fijian Art; Voyaging in the Pacific; and the Art and History of the Cook Islands and Tahiti. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Mundy Cruises financed all costs for Hooper to travel to Fiji, join the cruise on MS Paul Gauguin with 300 passengers (24 June - 6 July 2017) and travel back to the UK. Total cost if done independently would have been c. £9000 |
| Impact | This trip allowed Hooper to travel free to Fiji to continue planning discussions with Fiji Government for COP23 and to attend the opening of the Kamunaga exhibition at Fiji Museum and to deliver two presentations, one at the opening and another to the Friends of Fiji Museum. It also allowed him to visit Vava'u in Tonga and Aitutaki for the first time, and to have a meeting with the Director Tahiti Museum in Tahiti. These visits provide fresh teaching material and materials for further research. Each of the lectures was attended by over 100 passengers, many of whom engaged fully with the subject matter and with whom there were ongoing conversations. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Taukei Trust Fund Board staff training |
| Organisation | iTaukei Trust Fund Board |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We hosted 2 staff members of the TTFB in the UK in February 2017, arranging workshops and visits to museums in Cambridge, Oxford and London. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They provided feedback to UK museums and are collaborating in an exhibition in Fiji Museum in 2017. They are planning a fieldworkers programme in Fiji, especially to record oral histories and traditional skills. |
| Impact | Feedback to UK museums |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Tourism Fiji: facilitating marketing activities |
| Organisation | Tourism Fiji |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have liaised with Jane West, director of Tourism Fiji UK (which also covers the rest of Europe), and her staff around the major exhibition 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. We have provided curatorial tours of the exhibition to guests and received visits by Tourism Fiji staff. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Tourism Fiji sponsored the dinner and other promotional activities around the opening of the exhibition, which was attended by HE the President of Fiji. They also promoted ubat the opening |
| Impact | 2 February 2017: the most successful marketing event to travel agents that Tourism Fiji has held, with over 40 participants. It was hosted at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts during the Fiji: Art & :Life in the Pacific exhibition, and involved a curatorial tour by Steven Hooper and promotional of cultural aspects of Fiji. Future collaboration with project members is planned during COP23 in Bonn in November 2017 (Fiji currently chairs the UN Climate Change Conference), when Fiji will be promoted. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Visit by Mr Joji Marau, Mr Setareki Domonisere, Mrs Luisa Vereivalu, canoe building and weaving specialists, to the UK |
| Organisation | Fiji National University (FNU) |
| Country | Fiji |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Hosting Mr Marau (of Fiji National University), Mr Domonisere and Mrs Vereivalu in the UK in October 2016, so they could visit collections, have meetings with staff at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, rig the Fijian canoe (a key exhibit) and participate in the opening of the Fiji exhibition, and make presentations at the Pacific Arts Association-Europe conference. They also were able to view the Fiji exhibition and participated in a workshop at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Making presentations to the conference and general public, rigging the canoe, and providing woven artefacts for demonstration. |
| Impact | Conference presentations, rigging the Fiji canoe for exhibit, production of woven crafts |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Collection study at Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Jacobs and Igglesden took Dulcie Stewart and Daren Kamali to the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to study the Fijian collections in relation to their artistic work. Both Dulcie and Daren are Fijian artists, who wanted to draw on museum and archival collections. As a member of the Veiqia Project (Female tattooing), Dulcie looked at veiqia-related archival documents and tattooing tools and exchanged knowledge with Karen Jacobs. Daren is a spoken word artist, who is currently interested in Fijian wigs made of human and horse hair. Being able to study the wigs, and associated photography, in Cambridge was inspiring for him. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Conference paper - Jacobs and Igglesden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The paper, entitled ''Impact and Engagement': the Challenges of Translating Fiji across Communities', was presented by Karen Jacobs and Katrina Igglesden at the PAA-E (Pacific Arts Association-Europe) annual conference which took place in November 2017 at the Musee d'ethnographie in Geneva, Switzerland. In the presentation, the collaboration with Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board was discussed as it fitted the conference theme 'the ongoing responsibilities of ethnographic museums'. The question as to how impact and engagement can take place contributed to the discussions and convinced the audience that research projects (in addition to ethnographic museums) also need to think about the impact and sharing of their findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Conference paper - Jacobs and Igglesden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The paper, entitled ''Impact and Engagement': the Challenges of Translating Fiji across Communities', was presented by Karen Jacobs and Katrina Igglesden at the PAA-E (Pacific Arts Association-Europe) annual conference which took place in November 2017 at the Musee d'ethnographie in Geneva, Switzerland. In the presentation, the collaboration with Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board was discussed as it fitted the conference theme 'the ongoing responsibilities of ethnographic museums'. The question as to how impact and engagement can take place contributed to the discussions and convinced the audience that research projects (in addition to ethnographic museums) also need to think about the impact and sharing of their findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Cultural Day with Vosa Vakaviti UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 2 December 2016, fifteen Fijian children and about ten others attended a workshop run Ana Lavekau, a Fijian in the British Army who is also a dancer, designer and cultural practitioner, who encourages retention of Fijian language and cultural skills by UK-based Fijians. The group toured the Fiji exhibition with project team members and had dance demonstrations and made Fijian-style pottery |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Docent talk for LACMA Fiji exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Steven Hooper and Katrina Igglesden gave guided tours of the exhibition to the press and to docents/guides for 2 hours to prime them to be able to inform the public about the exhibition. The tours led to many questions about Fijian art and history, and especially relating to the full-size canoe, which informed the media and enhanced the ability of the docents to give tours themselves during he 7-month run of the exhibition |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Dr Igglesden invited to advise Natural History Museum of Los Angeles |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Igglesden is performing a consultancy role for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles's project called 'The Fabric of Community: Tapa and Woven Mats from the Pacific'. This came about because Nancy Thomas, the Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, hosts to the Fiji exhibition, recommended Igglesden to NHMLA after working with her on the LACMA Fiji exhibition. Igglesden has also been asked to sit on NHMLA's community-led advisory committee for the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Exhibition Kamunaga: the story of Tabua (Fiji Museum, June 2017-February 2018) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The exhibition was a result of a collaboration between project staff members, Jacobs and Igglesden, and staff of Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board. The exhibition's success is solid evidence of staff members' increased professional skills in presenting their collections to their audiences. The Fiji Museum exhibitions received wide media coverage, increased visitor numbers and were considered locally as educational tools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Exhibition tour for Sotheby's special clients - Sotheby's Preferred |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 21 October 2016 project team members made a presentation and led a tour of the Fiji exhibition, arranged by Sotheby's for 29 members of Sotheby's Preferred, a special club for collectors. Most participants were not collectors of Oceanic art, but were interested because of the quality of the Fiji exhibition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Fiji Museum Family Fun Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project team funded the Fiji Museum Family Fun Day in March 2017, which was organised in relation to the Veiqia (female tattooing) exhibition that was curated by the Veiqia Project team at the Fiji Museum. The project team has good working relations with the Veiqia Project team and helped out during the day, which informed the public of the past significance of veiqia - a practice that many visitors did not know of. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Fiji President opens exhibition at Fiji Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Kamunaga exhibition is the outcome of a collaboration between project staff, Jacobs and Igglesden, and staff of the Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board.The exhibition was opened by the President of Fiji (receiving wide media attention), who in his opening speech stated that the exhibition 'will serve as a classroom on its important subject encouraging students and young people to be critical thinkers. the museum has been neglected over the past decade and he has appealed to shareholders to invest in the upgrading of the museum' (Fiji Village, 'President opens Kamunaga exhibition called The Story of the Tabua', 16/6/2017). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Fiji exhibition tours for staff and guests of Archant, the publishing company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 16 November 2016, 30 November 2016 and 25 January 2017, three evening presentations and exhibition tours of the Fiji exhibition were given by project members to staff and guests of Archant, the newspaper company that was one of the sponsors of the Fiji exhibition. The guests were mostly business associates of Archant. There were over 20 people in each group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Hooper - Pacific Arts paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Hooper presented a paper "Fijian Fakes and Replicas: authentic confusion?" at the Pacific Arts Association Europe annual conference, "The Pacific in Europe: Europe in the Pacific", held at Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany, 28 April 2018. The aim was to help people understand issues to do with fake artworks and notions of authenticity. There were several questions from the audience during the session, and afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.lindenmuseum.de/fileadmin/user_upload/images/fotogalerie/Hawaii/Preliminary_Programme_PA... |
| Description | Hooper - Pacific History Association panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Hooper convened and introduced a panel at the Pacific History Association conference in London and Cambridge (3-5 December 2018) on "Pacific History in Museums and Cultural Centres". Dr Apolonia Tamata of the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (a project partner in our 'Fiji's Artistic Heritage' project), delivered a paper in this panel, based on our collaborative work, "How many objects do you have? A Vanua Fieldworkers' Network for exhibitions (in Fiji)". This paper and panel involved questions and debate from a large audience, especially focusing on the situation in local museums in the Pacific region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://pha.maa.cam.ac.uk/pha/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Amended-PHA-23rd-Schedule.pdf |
| Description | Horniman museum workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Jacobs, Igglesden and Horniman Museum curator Dr Sarah Byrne organised a public event entitled 'Pacific Fashion: a living legacy', in collaboration with London Pacific Fashion Week. 9 Pacific designers, as well as the Executive Director of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, presented their work. Jacobs and Igglesden introduced the event, which involved a lot of audience participation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://londonpacificfashion.wordpress.com/about/ |
| Description | Igglesden - Summer school presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Igglesden gave a presentation to c. 80 Yr 9-11 secondary school students on 26 July 2018 at a Summer School organised by UEA. She focused on her Fijian heritage, studying at university, working on research projects and her engagement with COP23, the bih climate change meeting in Bonn in November 2017, for which Igglesden organised the Fiji Pavilion. Student interest was strong in climate change issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Igglesden - UEA Model United Nations Conference 27 April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | KTI invited to deliver the keynote address at UEA's Model United Nations Conference on 27 April 2018. Title of address was 'We're all in the Same Canoe: My journey with Fiji and COP23'. She was approached because of her work with the Fiji project and because of her secondment to work for the Fijian COP23 Fijian Presidency which included extensive work with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. There was a lot of interest in Fiji's role, as a Small Island Developing State, in climate change debates. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://netcommunity.uea.ac.uk/e-ziggurat-may |
| Description | Igglesden - consultant on Pacific Pavilion for COP24 in Poland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Igglesden was part of the planning group for the Pacific Pavilion at COP24 in Poland in December 2018, having developed and managed the Fiji Pavilion at COP23 in Bonn in November 2017. This time Fiji combined with other Pacific Island nations to present climate change issues for Pacific Island nations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.sprep.org/news/the-pacific-and-koronivia-pavilion-is-officially-open |
| Description | Interview with Hooper published in Dutch national newspaper NRC Handeslblad |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Linked to Hooper's lecture at the Amsterdam Tribal Art Fair, on 25 October 2017 a double-page spread interview was published in NRC Handelsblad in their newspaper and online. The interview covered Hooper's personal career story, research in Fiji, the major Fiji exhibition and the upcoming lecture on Fiji.Tonga and Samoa. I understand that NRC is the paper of record in The Netherlands and its 2016 circulation was 188,000. I do not know about online readership. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/10/25/opgegroeid-tussen-zwaarden-en-maskers-13668896-a1578619 |
| Description | Interview with Jacobs, Igglesden and staff of Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in the Fiji Sun Newspaper (16 March 2017) entitled 'Success of UK exhibition to help standard here' was based on an interview with Jacobs, Igglesden and members of Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board who worked on the Kamunaga exhibition. While the intention was to share knowledge rather than the journalistic interpretation 'raise the standard', the article does report on the team's activities and the exchange of knowledge and expertise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invitation for Dr Jacobs and Dr Igglesden to be on Fiji Museum's Peer Review Panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Belonging to Fiji Museum's Peer Review Panel continues the active engagement between project members and a principal partner in Fiji. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Jacobs - ESFO paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | European Society for Oceanists Biennial Conference, University of Cambridge, December 2018: Jacobs presented paper paper 'On Separations and connections: female fibre skirts (liku) and tattooing (veiqia) of nineteenth century Fiji in museums', in panel 'Beyond Inequalities: Museums as Experimental Hubs for Balancing Inequalities' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.pacific-studies.net/conferences/public.php?confID=3&action=session_detail&session=129 |
| Description | Jacobs - Fields of Vision presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 15 October 2018: Jacobs presented a paper 'To digitise or not: some thoughts on the journey from photograph to digital drawing and knowledge-production in Fiji', at postgraduate conference: 'Fields of Vision: Thinking photography and digital imaging across disciplines', UEA Norwich. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.uea.ac.uk/documents/600942/1467996/FieldsOfVision-PGRColloquium.pdf/e69b9380-041a-6120-7... |
| Description | Jacobs RAI conference paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | June 2018: RAI (Royal Anthropological Institute conference)'s major conference Art, Materiality and Representation, London. Jacobs gave a paper: 'The enigma of liku (Fijian fibre skirts) in museums: trade, translation and reconsideration', in panel: 'Collections as Currency? Objects, Exchange, Values and Institutions' convened by Jude Philp (University of Sydney) and Liz Bonshek (Museum Victoria) with Robert Foster (University of Rochester) as discussant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://nomadit.co.uk/rai/events/rai2018/conferencesuite.php/panels/6146 |
| Description | Kamunaga: Educational programme for students in Year 10-13/Form 5-7 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | On 9 September 2017 the Kamunaga Exhibition team hosted an educational programme for male students in Year 10, who learned presentation protocol using tabua (presentation whale teeth) for each of the different life cycle events. It was a practical course that shows that museums do not just preserve old things, but also encourage and promote culture through practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Lecture at the Tribal Art Fair in Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hooper was invited to deliver a lecture at the annual Tribal Art Fair in Amsterdam. The lecture, entitled 'Fiji, Tonga, Samoa: disentangling necklaces, ornaments and clubs' was attended by about 45 people, mostly collectors and some dealers and academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://tribalartfair.nl/homepage/programma-program |
| Description | Media Interest at Opening Exhibition Kamunaga: the story of Tabua (Fiji Museum, June 2017-February 2018) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The Fijian media showed an larger interest in this new exhibition at the Fiji Museum and reported on it widely. This led to an increase in visitor numbers. The exhibition's success also led to plans for future exhibitions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation on the Kamunaga Fiji exhibition project by Dr Jacobs. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation by Dr Jacobs on Fiji Museum's Kamunaga exhibition tproject at the 5th AHRC Connected Communities Heritage Network Symposium on 12 February 2021. The title of the paper was: 'Engagement and Impact': the challenges of translating Fiji heritage across communities. We have now been invited to write a paper (as a team) to be published in the symposium proceedings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Sailing into the Future: Fiji Museum and the role of canoes environment and education |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An invited presentation at the conference 'Oceanie' at the Musee du quai Branly, Paris, 29-30 June 2019. This was attended by a range of academics, students and the general public, with a focus on 'The Role of Museums'. There were specific questions after the talk and then during the general discussion at the end of the session. There was keen interest in the role of a museum in the Pacific, and in canoe-building revival. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/scientific-research/activities/colloquiums-and-symposiums/symposia/event... |
| Description | Speech at opening of Kamunaga exhibition at Fiji Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hooper was invited to deliver a speech at the formal opening of the 'Kamunaga' exhibition at Fiji Museum on 15 June 2018, following the opening speech by His Excellency the President of Fiji and a speech by Dr Apolonia Tamata, the lead curator of the exhibition. About 100 people attended the opening, which was covered in the local press. This exhibition was a direct output of the AHRC-funded collaboration between the SRU/UEA team and Fiji Museum and the iTaukei Trust Fund Board in Fiji. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://fijivillage.com/news/President-opens-Kamunaga-exhibition-called-the-Story-of-the-Tabua-2s5r9k |
| Description | Talk given at Tokani (Friends of the Fiji Museum) Event - Hooper/Igglesden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk presented on 12 April 2017 at the request of Fiji Museum and Tokani (Friends of the Fiji Museum) organising committee. The first part of the talk described and illustrated the 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' exhibition (15 October 2016 - 12 February 2017, University of East Anglia) and Fijian collections housed in the UK, as well as highlighted the exceptional collections held in Fiji Museum. The last part detailed upcoming work within the project including the jointly curated exhibition 'Kamunaga: the story of tabua'. The talk coincided with the opening of a small exhibition at the Fiji Museum which was curated by Igglesden and Fiji Museum staff. The talk was attended by locals, academics based in Fiji, as well as several Heads of Missions who were in Suva for the annual Heads of Missions Meeting (convened by the Fijian Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The event also doubled as the Fijian launch of Hooper's book 'Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific' which was co-published by UEA and Fiji Museum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2017 |
| Description | Talk to Friends of Fiji Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hooper and several Fijian colleagues gave a talk, 'Kamunaga, the story of Tabua', about the importance of whale ivory valuables in Fijian culture at an event organised by the Friends of Fiji Museum on 20 June 2017. About 70 people attended and the main aim of the evening was to explain about the making of the Kamunaga exhibition at Fiji Museum and to correct some longstanding misunderstandings about the origin and role of whale teeth in Fiji. The evening also doubled as the launch event of the book by Hooper, Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific, of which Fiji Museum is co-publisher. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/events/313171789122992/ |
| Description | Visit by Her Majesty The Queen to the Fiji exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a result of an audience with the President of Fiji (q.v.) on 19 October 2016, the Palace got in touch to arrange a visit to the Fiji exhibition by Her Majesty The Queen when she was staying at Sandringham in Norfolk in January. After the usual preparations with the Palace, the Lord Lieutenant's Office and other parties, the visit took place on Friday 27 January 2017. A special tour was provided by project members and the Fiji High Commission, including costumed warrior guards, drummers and a Fijian choir. HM is familiar with Fiji and has visited there several times. The visit provided an opportunity for her to meet a range of local arts-related people and students studying at the Sainsbury Research Unit at UEA. The visit attracted global media coverage - there were about 30 photographers and news organisations present - attention being intensified by The Queen's illness over Christmas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/education/the_queen_enjoys_a_cultural_tour_of_fiji_at_the_sainsbury_cent... |
| Description | Visit by His Excellency the President of Fiji to open the Fiji exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | We were honoured that the President of Fiji, His Excellency Mr Jioji Konrote, agreed to come to open the exhibition Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific at the Sainsbury Centre on 14-15 October 2016. In fact he built a trip to Europe and the Middle East around this as his primary commitment. An audience of over 300 people witnessed a traditional Fijian reception for him, before touring the exhibition. This event attracted strong media interest and coverage and was attended by many UK-based Fijians and other luminaries including Sir David Attenborough - which also attracted media attention. Among the impacts was that on Wednesday 19 October the President had an audience with Her Majesty the Queen, at which he mentioned the exhibition in glowing terms. This led to a request from the Palace for Her Majesty to visit the exhibition, which she did on 27 January 2017 (reported as a separate item) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Workshops for Kamunaga Exhibition - Igglesden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Held in April and July, Igglesden met with the Kamunaga exhibition team in Suva to discuss different aspects of the exhibition. During the first workshop, the team presented their plans and designs for which Igglesden contributed advice and suggestions. This helped the team firm up their overall vision for the exhibition. It was an important workshop as this was the first time any of the team members had mounted an exhibition on their own. The workshop in July was a debrief of their exhibition planning experience (Kamunaga opened in June). This allowed the team to discuss openly how they felt the process went and address any successes and challenges faced along the way. It was also at this workshop that the education programme was developed and costed. Since these workshops, team members in Fiji have become more confident in their abilities and have mounted multiple small exhibitions in their own organisations and together. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshops on Fijian garland making |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two 1-day workshops were held on 26 November and 3 December at the Sainsbury Centre at UEA, the second by demand because the 20-person limit for the first was heavily oversubscribed. The sessions were run by project member Katrina Igglesden and by Sera Tavainavesi, a Fijian craft specialist who lives in East Anglia. Participants were taught how to make fibre garlands by plaiting and weaving techniques. These special garlands (salusalu) are worn by honoured guests in Fiji, and the cultural context of their use was also explained to participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Workshops with Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board - Jacobs and Igglesden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Staff of the two organisations in Fiji had visited UK museums and exhibitions in February 2017 and in March 2017 Jacobs and Igglesden travelled to Fiji to organise workshops on exhibition curation and organisation. The collaboration between project staff and Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board resulted in the successful exhibition 'Kamunaga: the story of Tabua' (Fiji Museum, Suva, June-February 2018), which was curated by staff of Fiji Museum and iTaukei Trust Fund Board with Jacobs and Igglesden as advisors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | iTaukei Trust Fund Board Rewa Fieldworkers Training at Nadave |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As a project partner, iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) organised fieldworker's training at the Center for Appropriate Technology and Development at Nadave, Tailevu, Fiji, from the 6th to the 10th of November, 2017. A total of 25 participants and 6 facilitators attended the training and were all accommodated at Nadave for the training duration. In addition to AHRC funding, this event was sponsored by the British Council's Active Citizen's (AC) program. During group activities, the participants were grouped according to their Tikina (districts). They were trained to not only identify possible informants within their own communities but on how and when to approach them. They also learned to look at traditional ceremonies and customs as possible sources of information exchange. On the last day of the training, the fieldworkers were asked to select their research topics per Tikina and they were asked to begin researching straight away for one whole year. Upon the completion of the 5-day training, the participants not only became trained fieldworkers but also received British Council's Active Citizen's certificate and joined the global Active Citizen's family. In April 2018 another meeting will be organised. Through the partnership with the Sainsbury Research Unit and the funding provided, the iTaukei Trust Fund Board has been able to kickstart the fieldworkers project which is intended to then feed into their planned Cultural Center. The training programme has been quoted as an eye opener for the Province of Rewa as revealed by the fieldworker's themselves and the different district representatives. it was stated that for too long have they relied on government and other organizations to conduct research on their people and their way of life and benefit from it, when they should be encouraging their own to write and record their own stories from their own perspectives. Through the training they have been able to see value in things that were often taken for granted in their own vanua (land) by their own people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | iTaukei Trust Fund Board Rewa Information Session with the Provincial Office and District reps |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As a project partner, the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) is currently preparing to set up a cultural centre in Fiji. TTFB organised an information session with the Rewa Tikina (District) representatives and the Rewa Provincial Office on 12/10/17, with the aim to set up fieldworkers program related to the forthcoming Cultural. The session was well attended and representatives from 8 of the 9 Tikina were present. The Tikina representatives supported the ideas and they were asked to nominate 2 - 3 fieldworkers from their Tikina (male and female) to attend the 5-day training in Nadave scheduled for the 6th of November 2017. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |