Live at the AM: Asaro Mud Men

The inhabitants of Komunive village, Asaro River, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, are famous for their fearsome clay headdresses and dramatic ritualised celebrations of custom in the form of dance performances. For one week only, four Asaro Mud Men were in residence at the Australian Museum. The Asaro Mud Men have gained prominence as an ‘intercultural phenomenon’ and reflect how communities respond to aspects of modernisation and globalisation through their Holosa masks and performances "The whole idea of bringing the community here is to have that close engagement with the Australian public. …it seems like there is a collective amnesia about who we are as a nation in the 21st century, who our neighbours are, and how close we are to Papua New Guinea." Yvonne Carillo, Senior Collections Officer, Pacific Collections at the Australian Museum. This Live at the AM night talk asked the questions: How do museums make new acquisitions today? How important is the inclusion of indigenous makers' perspectives in the process of making objects, filming and bringing their own newly produced cultural objects to the Australian Museum? This distinguished panel will tackle these key questions, in conversation with acclaimed Australian journalist Sean Dorney, who has had a long standing relationship with Papua New Guinea. The panel featured members of the Komunive community (Asaro valley, Eastern Highlands, Goroka), documentary filmmaker Ms Klinit Barry and pacific specialist and Asaro Project Manager, Yvonne Carrillo-Huffman. This conversation provides a rare opportunity to explore the team’s field and travelling experiences of this major collaborative cultural project between the Australian Museum, the Komunive community, filmmakers from the University of Goroka, and the J.F.K McCarthy Museum (Goroka), commissioning a new collection of Holosa masks and filming the acquisition process.

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