Free dance performances from the Pacific
Oceania opening day
29 September 2018 11 - 11.45am29 September 2018 12.15 - 1pm29 September 2018 1.30 - 2.15pm
Annenberg Courtyard, Burlington House, Piccadilly
Free, no booking required
As we mark the opening of our Oceania exhibition, drop in to our courtyard to watch a free 45-minute performance of dance from the Pacific.
In a series of free, drop-in performances to celebrate the opening of our landmark Oceania exhibition, dancers from the Kingdom of Tonga will perform the Lakalaka – a Tongan masterpiece of performing art, that consists of poetry which is sung and accompanied by dance. In 2003 UNESCO, declared this unique form of art to be part of the "intangible heritage of humanity”. Dancers from Papua New Guinea will also perform in the courtyard that day, and seating will be available to watch both performances.
Marking 250 years since Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific, Oceania celebrates the dazzling and diverse art of the region of Oceania, from the historic to the contemporary. The exhibition will bring together around 200 exceptional works from public collections worldwide, and will span over 500 years. From shell, greenstone and ceramic ornaments, to huge canoes and stunning god images, we explore important themes of voyaging, place making 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.
Oceania has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London and Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris, with the participation of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge.
Free, no booking required