Sea of Islands

Exploring Objects, Stories and Memories from Oceania

Carol E. Mayer, Ralph Regenvanu, Susan Rowley

$79.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Figure 1 Publishing
01 October 2025

History of Art & Design Styles; Exhibition catalogues & specific collections; Museums & museology; History; Ethnic studies

Series: Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia

Sea of Islands brings together knowledge holders, scholars, and artists from across the Pacific with Western scholars working with Pacific collections

as well as members of diasporic Oceanic communities

to share the stories and journeys of the objects that comprise Canada's largest Oceanic collection, housed at The Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia holds some 3,500 objects from Oceania, making it the largest and most diverse collection from this region in Canada. From regalia and jewellery to barkcloths and woven mats to carvings and canoes, all these items have travelled, sometimes circuitously, from their homelands

including Aotearoa, Australia, the Torres Strait Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Rapa Nui, the Marquesas Islands, and Vanuatu

to the west coast of Canada. Sea of Islands traces the journeys and stories of these holdings, as shared by knowledge holders, scholars, and artists from across the Pacific.

Presented alongside more than 250 photographs of individual objects contextualised by historic and contemporary images from Oceanic communities, Carol E. Mayer's text draws on her decades of research and outreach centred around the complex intersections between museum collections, contemporary art practices, and different knowledge systems. The result is a lively and accessible exploration of how these objects

old and new

continue to articulate systems of meaning and engender new relationships.

By: Carol E. Mayer
Preface by: Susan Rowley
Foreword by: Ralph Regenvanu
Imprint: Figure 1 Publishing
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 279mm, Width: 228mm, Spine: 25mm
ISBN: 9781773271552
ISBN 10: 1773271555
Series: Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Carol E. Mayer is the Research Fellow Pacific at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology. Internationally known for her work as a museum curator, she has published widely on museum-related topics, curated more than forty exhibitions, and received fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and the Sainsbury Research Unit and numerous awards including from the Canadian Museums Association, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Canada, and the British Columbia Museums Association. She has also received a medal from the Republic of Vanuatu for her cultural contributions, and the Manu Daula Award from the Pacific Arts Association for her outstanding achievement and dedication in the arts of the Pacific. Ralph Regenvanu is the Minister for Climate Change Adaptation, Energy, Environment, Meteorology, Geohazards and Disaster Management, Republic of Vanuatu. Susan Rowley is the Director of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.