Our friends at the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) are holding the second annual Pasifika Living Arts Showcase on May 5-6 in Long Beach, CA. PIEAM collaborated with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and Amerasia Journal this past February for Teaching the Pacific, which helped launch our recent special issue on Pacific Islander Studies, “Transoceanic Flows: Pacific Islander Interventions across the American Empire.” Below is the press release for the Pasifika Living Arts Showcase; further information on the two-day event can be found at the PIEAM website.
Long Beach, CA – The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) presents its 2nd Annual Pasifika Living Arts Showcase on May 5-6, 2012, 12-5pm. This is a free event and will be held at PIEAM and at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA).
Pasifika Living Arts Showcase will feature hands-on workshops and performances by traditional artists and cultural specialists representing the Pacific Islands diverse cultures. Demonstrations include the art of tattoo, weaving, wood carving, traditional dances, fire knife, coconut candy making, taro pounding, ukulele music, fish net throw, storytelling, face painting, cooking, artifacts display and much more. Audience members will have an opportunity to participate in each arts demonstration. This will be on a first come first serve basis. In addition, there will be a film screening of Skin Stories and Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific and a contemporary youth art show in partnership with Pacific Talent Academy. All master artists and demonstrations will be documented to use for educational programs and school outreach.
Community vendor tables will be selling one-of-a-kind art pieces, crafts, and food. Each vendor table will offer a traditional hands-on-activity for participants. Come try on traditional Yapese grass skirts, twirl poi balls, learn to weave, get your face painted, and much more. Also, PIEAM museum tours will be on-going.
“The event is an opportunity to document Pacific Islands’ living arts, educate, inspire and create generation of artists to come,” says Brenna Barrett, PIEAM museum director.
If people are unable to attend but would still like to participate, follow our free live webstreaming at www.pieam.org/pasifikalivingartsshowcase.
PIEAM’s mission is to incorporate the diverse cultures of the Pacific Islands, into a permanent collection, educational programs, rotating exhibits, and living arts.
The museum is located at 695 Alamitos Avenue. The main entrance faces Alamitos Avenue just south of 7th Street. Free museum parking is available at 644 Alamitos Avenue next to Café Viva or at MOLAA, 628 Alamitos Avenue.
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