Te Papa is open. Visiting Te Papa during Alert Level 1
Kei te tuwhera a Te Papa. Te toronga mai ki Te Papa i raro i te Pae Mataara 1

A man wearing shorts and holding a stick is standing on a beach with water and palm trees in the background
  1. Home
  2. Learn
  3. Research
  4. Pacific Cultures research

Pacific Cultures research: What we’re working on

Find out about some of our current Pacific Cultures research projects.

  • Orange, brown, yellow, and white circles on a bark cloth on a black background
    Publication: Tapa (working title)

    Publication: Tapa (working title)

    Research and publication of a book on the art of Pacific tapa cloth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

  • Black and white photo of 11 men in overalls standing in front of a factory
    Industrial Histories: a co-collecting project

    Industrial Histories: a co-collecting project

    A co-collecting project exploring how Pacific peoples remember their post-war migration to New Zealand to fill the labour shortages of a rapidly growing economy.

  • A book cover with a lot of people on it on an orange background
    Publication: Tangata o le Moana (2nd edition)

    Publication: Tangata o le Moana (2nd edition)

    Researching and updating the 2012 publication, Tangata o le Moana – New Zealand and the people of the Pacific.

  • A light-brown coloured book with pen drawing on the cover on a white background
    Follow the Sun: Women and Political Participation – Case studies in Sāmoa, Morocco, and Malaysia

    Follow the Sun: Women and Political Participation – Case studies in Sāmoa, Morocco, and Malaysia

    Women from academic, NGO, political, and community spheres in Malaysia, Sāmoa, and Morocco discuss their understanding of barriers to political participation by Indigenous women and what is being done to overcome them.

  • A black and white photo of a Pacific island beach with palm trees
    Sāmoan Multiplicities: Experiences of Samoanness

    Sāmoan Multiplicities: Experiences of Samoanness

    The project hypothesizes that experiences of Samoanness are spatially embedded – in landscapes, journeys, and multiple localities. They are also simul­taneously, yet temporally, negotiated – through memories, narratives, and genealogies.