 ANZ
presents the countries and the cultures
ANZ Amerika Samoa
Bank is proud to present the first of a 24 part series leading
up to the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts, which American Samoa
will be hosting July 20 - August 2 this year.
The Festival
has been called a "movable feast of Pacific cultures"
since its inception in 1972. Now one of the great art festivals
of the world, it is staged ever four years.
Pacific leaders
of the 1960s meeting at the forerunner of the South Pacific Commission
conceived the festival as a catalyst to draw international attention
to the rich and diverse cultural heritages of the Pacific, and
the need to nurture them.
In a beautifully
written article by Geoff Chapple which appeared in Art New Zealand
magazine shortly after the 1980 festival in Papua New Guinea,
he talked about the character of the festival - the size and
the energy and the focus.
"The festivals
are a political mirror. They reflect the contradictions of Pacific
societies emerging from a colonial age: the pressure of the big
unseen nations across the horizon on small Pacific cultures;
and within those small cultures the junctions of old styles with
the new. The boundaries between such opposites are frequently
still shifting - the attempts at reconciliation, both successful
and not, are a part of the festivals. And beyond that, the festivals
are themselves a breath of history in the making, the first appearance
of a unity within the differing cultures of Melanesia, Micronesia
and Polynesia. The diaspora (group migration or scattering of
peoples) which began perhaps seven thousand years ago has turned
and found in this event the focus of a common ancestry, a common
island heritage, and at the least, the setting for a very good
party for all-comers in the South Pacific."
The theme for
this year's festival - Su'iga'ula a le Atuvasa: Threading the
Oceanic Ula - is reflected in its logo designed by American Samoa
Community College art instructor, Reggie Meredith.
The symbolism
in the design is described as the essence of the journey portrayed
by three travelers representing Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia.
"We envision them setting sail at dusk, navigating by the
stars (defined on the left side), and as they get closer, the
new dawn begins with the gogo birds hovering over the ocean,
leading them to our shores. The steersman is a Samoan tending
to our visitors, to the Malaga, making sure that their journey
is safe. We look forward to greeting them with our ulas, a symbol
that defines the nature of our welcome, and the warm and loving
expectation of the coming celebration."
ANZ Amerika Samoa
Bank welcomes you to this series, a public service to our community
presented in the spirit of understanding and appreciation among
the Pacific Island countries.
To send comments
on this series, email: webmaster@samoanews.com
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