Julian Mary Dini, b.1994, Motalava Island, lives and works on Motalava Island / Regina Lepping, b.1990, Shortland Islands, lives and works in Honiara / Christina Mot, b.1956, Merelava Island, lives and works on Merelava Island / Ashantee Roy Nalo, b.2006, Espiritu Santo, lives and works in Espiritu Santo and Lembal, Gaua Island / Faith Nancy, b.1971, Motalava Island, lives and works on Motalava Island / Thelma Opress, b.1974, Gaua Island, lives and works on Gaua Island / Noeline Romol, b.1974, Gaua Island, lives and works on Gaua Island / Ann Rongle, b.1971 Merelava Island, lives and works on Malekula Island / Deli Rose Philip, b.1997, Gaua Island, lives and works on Gaua Island / Elisabeth Salvemal, b.1954, Gaua Island, lives and works on Gaua Island / Helen Salvemal, b.1974, Merelava Island, lives and works on Merelava Island / Curated by Dely Roy Nalo, b.1983, Port Vila, lives and works on Gaua Island / With the assistance of David Maseng Nalo, b.1972, Ambrym Island / Lives and works in Espiritu Santo and Lembal, Gaua Island

Curator Dely Roy Nalo descends from a chiefly line on Gaua Island, Torba Province. Working directly with ni-Vanuatu artists and their chiefs, Nalo conducts research and conversations to create new spaces for the articulation of kastom (customary knowledge and practice) and to ensure the intergenerational transmission of knowledge around the sustainable use of natural resources in an era of climate change.

For this Triennial, Nalo devised an intergenerational project focused on the knowledge embedded in women’s weavings from the Banks Islands group. Working with her husband, children and women from Gaua, Mere Lava and Mote Lava Islands, Nalo coordinated a weaving exchange in 2023. The Torba Weavers project brings together examples of weavings that flow from this workshop, all of which demonstrate how these traditions continue to change through the intricate exploration of colour, pattern and form.

This project is supported by the Commonwealth through the Office for the Arts, part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and QAGOMA’s Oceania Women’s Fund.