The YPL Alumni cohort with Maia Nuku and Sylivia Cockburn at The Met’s Arts of Oceania Galleries, in New York City.
Mana (spirit) from ancestors past could be felt throughout the Arts of Oceania Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) as a 12-strong Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) alumni cohort visited the renown New York City landmark.
The Big Apple is the first stop on a two-week YPL Alumni Roadshow in the United States and visiting The Met, a site housing taonga (treasures) from the Pacific in its Oceania collection, to kickstart the journey is an experience YPL alumnus Willy Missack will not forget.
The Loss and Damage Project Manager at the Department of Climate Change of Vanuatu says seeing a tam tam (mask) from his home island on display in New York City is really special.
“It provides the international communities from different backgrounds with an understanding of Oceania and the Pacific, while preserving traditional knowledge and showing how the people of the Pacific cultivated ways of living on a small island,” Willy says.
The YPL Alumni cohort had the opportunity to tour the Oceania Galleries guided by Curator for Oceanic Art Maia Nuku and Senior Research Associate for the Arts of Oceania Sylvia Cockburn, who explained the history of the collection and its recent reimagining.
Sylvia Cockburn and Maia Nuku engage with the YPL Alumni at the Arts of Oceania Galleries.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the American statesman and philanthropist Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller assembled a fine-arts survey of non-Western art traditions, including ancient Americas, African, and Oceanic art.
In 1969, it was announced that Rockefeller’s collection would be transferred to The Met as a new department and wing which opened in 1982.
The new wing was named after his son Michael C Rockefeller, who was greatly inspired by the cultures and art of the Pacific, particularly Papua New Guinea, and pursued new avenues of inquiry into artistic practice during his travels there.
Maia Nuku says after several years of being closed to the public, a reimagined Michael C Rockefeller wing was launched in May 2025, attended by Pacific leaders and communities, who blessed the space and its taonga.
“The launch showcased the arts of oratory and song, and that these objects are actually subjects with a biography,” Maia says.
“By inviting people in to do what is natural for them is the easiest way for other people to understand the art.”
Maia adds a strong focus of the collection is relationships, which lie at the heart of Pacific culture and have played a vital role while curating the collection.
After an extensive consultation period, and deep dives into taonga with community members, Maia and the team were able to draw out the history and what communities wanted to be represented, in the Galleries, she says.
“What I found very important as a curator caring for and stewarding this collection is the opportunity it gives us Pacific peoples to really lean into this collection as an archive of indigenous knowledge,” Maia says.
“Come and use what you can from the collection…the work we are doing in this sphere is critical right now and I believe by using indigenous knowledge to elevate these spheres, can lead to change.”
The stunning collection on display at the Arts of Oceania Galleries, found at The Met, New York City.
Meanwhile, Sylvia says hosting the YPL is an extension of the ongoing collaboration and engagement between The Met and Pacific communities, in line with the five-year reimagining of the Galleries and an essential part of broader cultural preservation efforts in the US.
Following The Met visit, the YPL cohort toured the 9/11 Memorial, and The Edge, concluding a poignant day one of the YPL Alumni US Roadshow.
The Roadshow continues in New York City until Wednesday, before it moves onto Washington, DC for more stakeholder meetings.
There the YPL will participate in multilateral policy discussions and engagements to bolster connections and relationships between the US and other Pacific countries, contributing to the safety and prosperity of the Pacific region.
Visit the Young Pacific Leaders website for more details on the US Department of State program.