In the Presence of the Spirits: Art and Culture in New Guinea

Situated on the westernmost edge of Oceania, the island of New Guinea accounts for an astonishing majority of the artwork that comes to us from this vast region in the Pacific.

Long celebrated for their creativity by artists, anthropologists, and collectors, artists from New Guinea create extraordinary works of art that are deeply rooted in distinct traditions of ritual, myth, and communal history.

Join MFA Research Associate Noah Cox as he discusses the exhibition Explore the Vaults: The Art of New Guinea and situates the works on display in the Miriam Acheson Gallery into the broader history of art from New Guinea.