Festival of Pacific Arts: education in multi-cultural encounters

Abstract

Can acts of support and/or revival of Pacific cultures serve to educate international tourists about Indigenous cultures? This paper examines, from a postcolonial perspective and using a qualitative methodology, whether the Festivals of Pacific Arts, to which all nations send delegations, can educate visitors about Indigenous cultures of the Pacific. These Festivals occur every four years, at a different venue each time, to spread the costs of organisation. The paper argues that the vibrancy and the sincerity of the performances are not sufficient to overcome the structural and cultural biases in the world of tourism. Attitudes towards such cultures have been patronising, keeping them at a timeless distance as visitor performance remains mired in the dictates of their social “habitus”. The size and facilities at venues along with the modest air links mean that the Festivals can accommodate only a small number of visitors. The visitors, however, could discover the multi-faceted nature of these cultures and the participants challenge modernist neo-colonial practices.