Falemata'aga - Museum of Samoa
Falemata'aga - Museum of Samoa
TypeGovernmental
Staff (2015)
3

13°50′2″S 171°45′46″W / 13.83389°S 171.76278°W / -13.83389; -171.76278Falemata'aga - The Museum of Samoa is the national museum of Samoa. It is housed in a former school which was built by the German colonial administration.

Background

The museum is located in Apia and is housed in the oldest building on the island, which is a former German colonial school.[1] The museum is funded by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture and is the only government-funded museum dedicated to Samoan culture. The museum had been part of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, until 1999, when government departments were reorganised. As of 2015, the museum had three members of staff.[2]

Collections and research

Falemataaga - Museum of Samoa

The museum's collection consists of over three hundred objects, which reflect the four strands of the museum's work: Pacific island cultures; Samoan prehistory; Samoan culture; the environment.[2] Objects include: taxidermy, tattoo equipment, prehistoric pottery, amongst others.[3] As a legacy of colonial occupation of Pacific lands subsequent fascination with their cultures,[4] important Samoan objects and archival materials are held in overseas collections, including: the British Museum;[5] Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences;[6] Hearst Museum of Anthropology;[7] the Metropolitan Museum of Art;[8] Te Papa;[9] the Field Museum, and many others.[10]

The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions on its site, as well as touring displays to more remote areas of the country.[2] In 2013 an exhibition of photographs reflecting German colonial life, entitled 'To Walk Under Palm Trees – The Germans in Samoa' was extremely popular.[11][12] In 2015 the Auckland War Memorial Museum donated the exhibition Entangled Islands: Sāmoa, New Zealand and the First World War to the museum for display.[13] In 2020 the museum held an exhibition at the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, which highlighted Samoa's journey to independence in 1962.[14]

The museum also collaborates on international research projects. During 2013 it worked with the American Museum of Natural History to explore sustainable building techniques in relation to the climate crisis.[15] In 2002 they began a collaboration with Uppsala University to investigate the archaeology and heritage management of the prehistoric Pulemelei mound.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Falemata'aga | Apia, Samoa Attractions". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Bennett, Elizabeth, "Challenges to Cultural Heritage Interpretation and Preservation at the Falemata’aga, the Museum of Samoa" (2015). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2219.
  3. ↑ Bennett, E. M. "Representations and belonging: a brief study of the social contexts of museums in Samoa and Fiji." (2017).
  4. ↑ SPERLICH, TOBIAS (2006). "Embodied Inter-Cultural Dialogues: The Biography of a Samoan Necklace in Cologne". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 115 (2): 119–144. ISSN 0032-4000. JSTOR 20707334.
  5. ↑ "model building/structure | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "American and British soldiers in trenches, Upolu, Samoa, 1899". collection.maas.museum. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Hearst Museum of Anthropology". hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Barkcloth Panel (Siapo)". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Tapa or Siapo cloth, Samoa ; Pre 1925; 75/26/3 on NZ Museums". eHive. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  10. ↑ philipp, c (2 March 2011). "Polynesian Collections". Field Museum. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "MUSEUM OF SAMOA ONLINE PHOTO EXHIBITION BREAKS NEW GROUND". www.samoanews.com. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Brunt, Tony (2017). To walk under palm trees: the Germans in Samoa: snapshots from albums. Part one. Samoa Historical and Cultural Trust. Apia, Samoa: Samoa Historical & Cultural Trust.
  13. ↑ Wilkinson, Tanya (2015). "Adding the local story to Entangled Islands". Archived from the original on 26 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "International Museum Day, 18th May 2020". Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Second round of workshops in NYC and Samoa for Rethinking Home this spring!". 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021.
  16. ↑ Green, Elisabet. "The Samoa Project - Department of Archaeology and Ancient History - Uppsala University, Sweden". www.arkeologi.uu.se. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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