Dr. Susan Cochrane
Susan Cochrane, with a career spanning four decades, is a renowned specialist in Indigenous Pacific art. Her early years in Papua New Guinea profoundly shaped her path as an art historian, curator, and writer. She has focused on promoting contemporary Pacific artists, supported by frequent fieldwork and a strong cultural network that has fostered enduring relationships with Indigenous artists and communities.
Cochrane holds advanced degrees, including an M.A. (Hons.) and a Ph.D. in Art History, as well as an M. Phil in Creative Writing. Her extensive publications on Pacific art encompass books, exhibition catalogues, essays, and articles, aimed at making Pacific art accessible to diverse audiences. Key works include Contemporary Art in Papua New Guinea (1997), Bérétara: Contemporary Pacific Art (2001), and Art and Life in Melanesia (2007).
Her book Living Art Papua New Guinea celebrates the nation’s 50th Independence anniversary, highlighting the parallel evolution of contemporary art in the country. Through her research, writing, and curatorial efforts, Cochrane has significantly contributed to the appreciation and understanding of Pacific art, bridging cultural traditions and contemporary practices for a global audience.
Dr. Michael Mel
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Dr. Philemon Yalamu
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Shiva Lynn Burgos
Shiva Lynn Burgos is a multidisciplinary artist and curator based between Paris, London, and Papua New Guinea. Her work explores themes of evolution, competition, and natural and social selection through a conceptual and often collaborative lens. She integrates field-collected objects with contemporary materials and technologies, examining value systems in currency, spirituality, and custom. Her diverse practices include photography, film, painting, bronze casting, sound, installation, performance, and digital imaging, such as AR, VR, cyanotype printing, and holography.
In 2013, Burgos initiated The Mariwai Project, a cultural exchange with Papua New Guinea’s indigenous artists, fostering recognition of their living cultures and bridging them with ethnographers and museum collections. The project also supports local development in art, education, health, and culture. Burgos founded GESTE Paris in 2016, a curatorial platform for experimental image-based art.
Her work is featured in notable institutions like the Humboldt Forum, Berlin, and Blue Origin, New Mexico, and has been exhibited globally, including in New York, Singapore, Athens, and Marseille. Burgos frequently speaks at conferences and is involved with organizations such as the Pacific Arts Association and the Nobel Sustainable Trust. She continues to expand her practice through residencies and collaborations worldwide.
Lani Auvita Scott
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Rio Fiocco
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Tim Solly
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