Oceania

Oceania Royal Academy of Arts

Marking 250 years since Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific, the RA celebrates the dazzling and diverse art of the region of Oceania, from the historic to the contemporary.

The year is 1768, and Britain is in the throes of the Age of Enlightenment. As a group of artists agrees to found the Royal Academy, Captain James Cook sets sail on a voyage of discovery to track the transit of Venus and search for terra australis incognita – the unknown southern continent, as Europeans called it. What Cook and his crew encounter on arrival is a vast number of island civilisations covering almost a third of the world’s surface: from Tahiti in Polynesia, to the scattered archipelagos and islands of Melanesia and Micronesia.The indigenous populations they met came with their own histories of inter-island trade, ocean navigation, and social and artistic traditions. This spectacular exhibition will reveal these narratives – celebrating the original, raw and powerful art that in time would resonate across the European artistic sphere.Oceania will bring together around 200 exceptional works from public and private collections worldwide and will span over 500 years. From shell, greenstone and ceramic ornaments, to huge canoes and stunning god images, the exhibitions explores important themes of voyaging, placemaking and encounter. The exhibition draws from rich historic ethnographic collections dating from the 18th century to the present and includes seminal works produced by contemporary artists exploring history, identity and climate change.
Duration 29 September 2018 - 10 December 2018
Times Daily 10am–6pm Friday 10am–10pm
Cost £20 concessions apply Free for Friends of the RA
Venue Royal Academy of Arts
Address Burlington House, 6 Burlington Gardens, London, W1J 0BD
Contact / press.office@royalacademy.org.uk / www.royalacademy.org.uk

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