May 31–Ongoing
The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art proudly presents the reimagined Arts of Oceania galleries, reopened in May 2025 within the newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. This remarkable installation showcases over 650 exceptional works from the Museum’s extensive Oceanic art collection, which spans more than 140 unique cultures. The exhibition captures the extraordinary diversity of Oceania—a region covering nearly one-third of the Earth’s surface—bringing its rich heritage and contemporary vitality to a global audience.
The galleries highlight monumental and intricately crafted artworks from New Guinea and the surrounding Pacific archipelagos, as well as Australia and Island Southeast Asia. These regions are bound by a shared Indigenous ancestry, whose artistic achievements are among Oceania’s greatest. Visitors encounter an array of sacred and ceremonial objects, including elaborately carved ancestral figures once housed in traditional ceremonial structures, towering slit drums, sacred crocodile reliquaries, and radiant turtle shell masks from coastal communities. Such works not only embody ancestral power but also narrate complex stories of origin, initiation rites, and spiritual significance.
Designed with sensitivity and innovation by architect Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architecture, in collaboration with Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects LLP and The Met’s Design Department, the new galleries offer a dynamic journey through The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. The spatial design employs a stunning diagonal trajectory that infuses the galleries with abundant natural light. This layout emphasizes the connections between island groups and Indigenous temporalities, providing a fresh interpretive framework that honors both the ancient roots and ongoing creativity of Oceanic cultures. Notably, the exhibition incorporates the theme of voyaging—both literal and metaphorical—featuring exquisite spirit canoes, decorated canoe prows and paddles, and meticulously crafted navigational charts from northern Pacific coral atolls, evoking the extraordinary skill and tradition of Pacific navigation.
A significant aspect of the reinstallation is its commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices through rich, contemporary digital and written narratives embedded throughout the galleries. These new interpretive layers bring forth the perspectives of artists, poets, performers, scholars, and cultural practitioners, allowing visitors to experience the collections through a profoundly human and culturally authentic lens. The inclusion of Pacific oral histories and performances enriches the storytelling, revealing the living nature of the arts of Oceania. This constellation of Indigenous voices encourages deeper engagement with the artworks and fosters a better understanding of Oceanic cultures in their global historical context and ongoing cultural evolution.
For more information or to plan your visit, please refer to the official exhibition page at The Met’s Arts of Oceania Exhibition.
