The idea of a Biennale which brings together contemporary works by New Caledonian artists from various cultural backgrounds was discussed for many years in Noumea before the exhibition was realised. The Biennale's supporters described problems quite different from those one would expect to encounter "in Australia where art is accepted and the cultural management autonomous". It was suggested also that the success of a first Biennale might encourage the staging of a second Noumea Biennale which could involve artists from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Finally, the Biennale d'Art Contemporain was planned for November 1994. The venue, Le théâtre de l’île, is a remarkable but initially very dilapidated church building located outside the city of Noumea. Started in the early years of the colony yet never completed and never used as a church, the building was transformed into an appropriate exhibition space. Twenty one artists of Kanak or French origin were represented in the Biennale, with the latter ranging from New Caledonian born French to more recent arrivals.
The Kanak artists each made reference to aspects of their indigenous origins in their use of traditional stories and design motifs, exemplifying a strong and persistent cultural heritage. As recently as 1990, Noumea's Musée territorial de Nouvelle-Calédonie, which has an important collection of traditional Kanak art, hosted an exhibition titled De Jade et de Nacre (Of Jade and of Pearl), a combined project with the Musee national des arts africains et océaniens in Paris. This landmark exhibition allowed New Caledonians the opportunity to see unique traditional pieces which are kept in several European collections.
It is important to note, however, that many Kanak artists' styles and techniques of image-making are only reminiscent... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline