Exploring Challenges - Pacific Storms Exhibition

Exploring challenges

By Geraldine Panapasa
Sunday, May 31, 2009

Exploring the spirit, life and challenges of contemporary Pacific people is what the Pacific Storms Exhibition is all about.

From June 3 to July 12, about 30 artists from around the Pacific including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, New Caledonia, Rotuma and artists based in New Zealand and Australia will showcase their work at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery in Australia in an effort to draw away from mainstream stereotypes of what Pacific art is and who its people are.

Setting a platform of contemporary creativity integrating real issues of the modern Pacific society, Pacific Storms will exhibit 50 artworks by leading Pacific artists.

Created by Beyond Pacific Art with Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, Pacific Storms aims to challenge perceptions while questioning our understanding of Australia's closest neighbours, the Pacific Islands.

Curator for the exhibition Jocelyn Leahy said the Pacific remains one of the few regions in the world rich in tangible and intangible heritage.

"Being rich in tangible and intangible heritage provides Pacific people with an endless source for artistic expression," Jocelyn said.

"The unique art forms are evidenced in museum and gallery collections all over the world collected over centuries.

"It is from this valuable artistic source that a selection of well-known and emerging artists across nine countries was challenged to use their heritage to create a contemporary Pacific expression.

"Living in a contemporary society that is culturally diverse and rapidly changing means it is important that the arts of these contemporary societies embrace and reflect these changes.

"The exhibition questions the present, highlights the now and draws viewers' attention to what lies under leis, sunshine and the stereotype view of Pacific Islands as underdeveloped and creators of primitive art."

Jocelyn hopes through the unique perspective of artists, display and interpretation of Pacific art, the exhibition will provide an opportunity for Australians to develop a better understanding of Pacific nations and their cultures. A little over 18 months ago, Jocelyn and the Gallery's exhibition officer Bianaca Acimovic began discussions on the representation and display of Pacific artists.

Their discussions led to the creation of Pacific Storms which strives not to stereotype Pacific arts but rather aims to capture the viewer and draw attention to Pacific culture in contemporary sense as seen through the eyes of Pacific artists.

"The Pacific region is marked by exceptional cultural and biological diversity within spectacular physical landscapes," Jocelyn said. "Thus each has their own unique way of building resilience to climate change, globalisation, security and civil unrest, HIV and AIDS, and many other social issues.

"These expressions are exhibited in the hope that wider audiences understand the complex issues through the diversity of art across the Pacific.

"As the creator of the show, I am considering running this as a bi-annual show. There has been tremendous interest in Australia and across the Pacific."

The assistance of Pacific Island artists including Letila Mitchell, director of Pacific Art Alliance and Daniel Waswas, artist and founder of Gallery PNG and Kingdom Power Ministries, adds leverage to the show. One local artist participating in the exhibition with incredible talent is 38-year old Anare Somumu who is contracted by Tokani Art Agency and affiliated to the Fiji Arts Council.

Complete story at FijiTimes.com

A vision for a clean Fiiji - Fiji Times Story

A vision for a clean Fiji

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Environmental campaigner ... Alexander Austin's vision for a cleaner Fiji led to the set-up of Green Steps

He has a vision to see to a clean Fiji in future.

Alexander Austin, better known as Alex, does not only hold this vision but has taken things to a far practical level of happenings.

Happenings which have mobilised the business community particularly to unite for a cleaner Fiji.

Alex, who is the production manager of family-run and Fiji's only cosmetic manufacturing factory Pure Fiji, cannot stand the sight of a dirty and messy beach area.

His conscience to do something about the filth lying around gave birth to Green Steps.

Green Steps is the coming together of several companies for environmental clean-ups and awareness.

"I started Green Steps initially about June 2007 because I saw the need to do something about the amount of rubbish that was washing up on our shores. I remembered as a young child playing in the sand at the Suva Point beach and watching the fish swimming in the pools at low tide. You could see the sand then," Alex said.

"This is where I learned to swim. I was horrified when I went down to that same beach to see the state that it was in. Something had to be done, but what? What could I do."

The thought kept running in his head and he knew something had to be done.

"I contacted several business owners and managers and asked them if they would be interested in helping me clean up the foreshore and beaches," he said.

"Then I had to think of how they would get their recognition for their efforts. And so from that Green Steps was born."

Green Steps is putting rubbish bins around Suva for the public to use.

The bins are sponsored by local businesses and money raised from sponsorship of these bins funds the ongoing environmental clean-up programs that Green Steps has been doing since January last year. The Green Steps rubbish bins are emptied, cleaned and maintained by the Green Steps crew on a daily basis.

"Green Steps employs four young men from the community to perform these duties as well as the environmental clean up program," explained Alex.

"Every day Green Steps employees walk along the foreshore of Suva from the Suva Wharf to Suva Point picking up rubbish. Currently Green Steps has approximately 60 rubbish bins in Suva and we aim to have over 100 bins installed by the end of the year."

It's this civic pride that makes him do what he does every day.

Green Steps' goal is to have a public rubbish bin accessible to everyone on every major road and public area by 2011 with adequate staffing to look after it.

Seeing the progress and effect of his actions is an achievement that gives him a sense of satisfaction.

The planet Earth is a living breathing thing that is at our mercy, says Alex.

"We need to take care of the land that we live on. We would not throw rubbish on the ground in our office or at our homes, so why do it when we are outside? This type of carelessness has to stop before the problem becomes to big for us to handle," he said.

The almost 40-year-old is happily married with two children who are the world to him.

"In my spare time I ride around Suva on my "TukTuk" picking up rubbish and if time allows I occasionally go sailing on the family Hobie Cat," he said.

Alex believes there is still a lot of room for improvement.

"I know that Fiji can and very soon will be very beautiful, but in order to get to that stage we have to do a lot of education and enforcement. We have to teach our children from a very young age that littering amongst other things is not acceptable," he said.

Though he has spent 17 years in United States of America, Fiji is his home.

"There is no better place to live than in Fiji. We have the best country in the world. The best place to raise children, the best and friendliest people in the world," said the Fiji-born man.

His motto is: Life is not a dress rehearsal. We have one opportunity to live our lives and only one Earth to do it on.

"This is your land, your vanua take pride in what we have and treat it with respect," said Alex

Cruise liners to inject estimated $3m into Fiji economy

MARY RAUTO
Fiji Times Story - Saturday, May 30, 2009

Update: 12:29PM FIJI is expected to receive at least $3million from the remaining 70 cruise vessels scheduled to visit our shores via Pacific Agencies (Fiji) Limited this year.

Company spokesman Bradley Bower said a total of 70 cruise vessels for PAFL alone were scheduled to call into Fiji for 2009.
He said these vessels would call into Suva, Lautoka, Savusavu, Dravuni, Denarau, Taveuni, Kioa, Rabi, Beqa and Yasawa group of islands.
The $3.15m estimated revenue excludes port fees, employment and earnings of companies involved in handling cruise ships, cruise ship passengers booking on tours within port limits.
Mr Bower said each cruise vessel 1500 to 2000 passengers and an estimated $30 per person was spent at a port.

He said the global economic crisis did not have much effect on the cruise holidaymakers because many bookings were made two years in advance. For those traveling passengers, majority have paid for their cruise holidays two years prior and are still traveling regardless, he said.
The effect of this world recession affects those booking now for one to two years on.

Those numbers may be limited and cruise companies will be looking at what savings can be made that provides them incentives to continue selling your port among all others available.
One of PAFLs cruise vessel Dawn Princess berthed at the Kings Wharf in Suva on Thursday.

Fiji to Host Pacific Nations Cup | Bleacher Report

Fiji to Host Pacific Nations Cup | Bleacher Report

by James Mortimer (Analyst)

The International Rugby Board has announced that Fiji will host the Pacific Nations Cup in 2009. The appointment of what is considered the key rugby tournament for the Pacific Islands is a vital component for their continued expansion.

The Fijians will host the core of the tournament, hosting matches at the National Stadium in Suva, Churchill Park in Lautoka, and Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka.

Prior to this, Samoa will host the Junior All Blacks in Apia, and Tonga will welcome the Fijians in Nuka’alofa.

The tournament will feature the three Pacific Nations teams, as well as the Junior All Blacks and Japan. This year, Australia A will not take part in the tournament.

The IRB’s Chairman Bernard Lapasset was ecstatic to announce the hosting in the Pacific Islands, where normally the Cup is formatted in home-and-away style matches with the respective nations.

“The hosting of the majority of ANZ Pacific Nations Cup matches for the first time in a single country is a very exciting development for a tournament which is now a major event in the global Rugby calendar,” Lapasset stated.

“Fiji has a rich Rugby heritage and a passion for the Game and I am sure that the country will embrace their first major IRB international 15-a-side event and deliver a special and memorable tournament that will serve to boost the profile of Rugby across the region.”

“The Game continues to grow exponentially in the Islands, thanks to the delivery of dedicated High Performance programmes and Union management initiatives as key elements of the IRB’s unprecedented £48 million global Strategic Investment Programme.”

“A key element of this strategy is the delivery of world class tournaments such as the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup and the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, which now completes a defined high-performance competition pathway for Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga.”

“The fruits were clearly seen at Rugby World Cup 2007 were Fiji reached the quarter finals and Tonga and Japan produced their best-ever RWC performances. I am sure that the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2009 will serve to lift performance levels once again as these teams look towards Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand,” Lapasset enthused.

The championship provides a welcome boost to Fiji that has unfortunately had its share of negative news and publicity of late.

Complete story here