More Than Simply Traditional: The Pacific Sisters

Abstract

The 90s saw an exciting transition in contemporary Pacific Art in New Zealand. Among the emerging artists, clothing designers and musicians was a group of Pacific and Maori women who called themselves the Pacific Sisters. Their determination and dedication led their invitation to the Pacific Arts Festival in independent Samoa in 1996. This event saw the Sisters transform their fashionable designs for the catwalk into mythological creations for the stage. Reflecting the racial diversity and economic tensions of Late 20th century New Zealand, their exuberant energy and creativity helped propel Pacific fashion and gave voice to the lives of numerous urban Pacific Islanders and Maori. In many ways their history is the history of an emerging Pacific arts identity.