Living Art Papua New Guinea

Lavishly illustrated and exceptionally researched, Dr. Susan Cochrane’sLiving Art: Papua New Guinea brings alive the multiple contemporary realities of the country and its people. This full-color art book presents artworks and cultural performances that are astonishing for their dramatic visual effect and virtuosity. It is a highly visual experience of Papua New Guinea's spectacular cultures and aesthetic wealth in their own context. Culture, politics, history, and identity are interlinking themes through which the book presents ideas about artists, creative processes and aesthetics; revealing Papua New Guinea's diversity of cultures and environments. It locates innovative artists in their villages, in downtown Port Moresby, and on to the international stage. Through this panorama, readers' ideas about what art is may be challenged. Released in the month of Papua New Guinea’s 50th Anniversary of Independence, this book explains and showcases the contemporary arts and culture of Papua New Guinea and its people.

Dr. Susan Cochrane is a researcher, curator and writer who works closely with communities and organizations in Papua New Guinea. Throughout her career, Dr. Cochrane has been a staunch advocate for Pacific artists and writers, and she regularly collaborates with artists and writers from Indigenous Australian, Pacific Islander, and Papua New Guinean communities. Her archives of PNG and Pacific contemporary art at the Fryer Library, University of Queensland and the Auckland Art Gallery-Toi o Tamaki are frequently accessed.

Michael A Mel is the current Director for Melanesian Arts and Culture at the University of Papua New Guinea, and is a celebrated artist, historian and activist.

Dr. Steven Enomb Kilanda is the Executive Director at the National Cultural Commission Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, and is a revered activist for the arts in Papua New Guinea.